North Korea has reportedly completed a new launch site for long-range missiles and has dug several more underground tunnels at its nuclear test site. South Korea and U.S. intelligence authorities have recently confirmed that construction of North Korea’s second missile launch base in Dongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province on the west coast, is almost complete. According to a satellite photo revealed by the U.S., the new base is equipped with a rocket engine test stand, missile assembly plant, and an observation tower. The new facility is considered more advanced than the existing missile launch site in Musudan-ri in North Hamgyeong Province on the east coast. A large launch pad, which is about 50 meters tall, is installed next to a modern launch tower. Also, it is assumed that the liquid fuel supply, the core component of missile launch preparations, is provided via underground channels automatically so the facility can avoid detection of U.S. reconnaissance satellites. Professor Kim Yeon-su at the Korea National Defense University explains that the new facility is much more intimidating than the previous one.

North Korea’s first missile launch site in Musudan-ri has limitations in test-launching intercontinental ballistic missiles in terms of the height of the launch tower and other facilities. The new base in Dongchang-ri is to overcome these limitations. It has more modernized and expanded facilities than the existing site. The launch pad in the new site, for example, is 1.5 times larger than that of the Musudan-ri. Also, fuel is supplied automatically in an underground storage room so it is hard to trace when a missile will be launched. It is also said that the engine test stand in the new facility has been expanded nearly three-fold. So, North Korea can now carry out combustion tests for engines with greater generating capacity, which means the test-launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles will be possible. Also importantly, the Dongchang-ri site is located near the northwest border with China, reflecting that North Korea was highly attentive to security in the new missile launch base.

North Korea has sought the development of middle-and long-range ballistic missiles since the test-firing of its Taepodong-1 missile in 1998. The North tested the Taepodong-2 intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, capable of reaching Alaska and the western coastlines of the United States, in both 2006 and 2009. In the same years, it also conducted a nuclear test. U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said on February 16 that North Korea has successfully tested many ICBM-related technologies, reiterating a warning against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threat. In a similar context, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during his visit to China last month that North Korea could develop an ICBM that can reach the U.S. mainland within five years. Why is the U.S. bringing up the issue of North Korea’s missiles, centering attention on this matter?

The U.S. intelligence community seems to have reached a new conclusion about North Korea’s improved missile capability, which is directly related to nuclear capabilities. Last year, Pyongyang revealed a modern uranium enrichment facility equipped with 2,000 centrifuges. I think North Korea’s renewed nuclear and missile capabilities prompted the U.S. to pay closer attention to Pyongyang’s development of weapons of mass destruction or WMD. Also, the U.S. and China agreed on the need for stability on the Korean Peninsula during their summit last month. So, U.S. intelligence has become aware of the need for deeper involvement in the North Korean WMD issue. Against this backdrop, the Dongchang-ri missile launch site is drawing sharp media attention.

Meanwhile, South Korea and U.S. intelligence authorities have spotted North Korea digging more tunnels at a nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, North Hamgyeong Province where it conducted two previous nuclear tests, one in 2006 and one in 2009. The underground tunnels, presumably shaped like a hook bracket(」), are apparently aimed at delivering electricity to the nuclear test site. The North is reportedly building more than one tunnel so it can choose the best one for a nuclear test. Intelligence authorities are closely monitoring North Korea’s movements, suspecting that the North is preparing for a third nuclear test. It is considered a strategic move to draw attention from the international community, including the U.S., amid the latest breakdown of a series of dialogue, including inter-Korean working-level military talks.

In the process of accelerating a power succession to heir-apparent Kim Jong-un, North Korea is trying to prove that the future leader will inherit current leader Kim Jong-il’s achievements in the nation’s military-first doctrine. To gain international recognition as a nuclear power, North Korea should bolster its nuclear capability. To this end, the North needs to carry out additional nuclear tests down the road. In view of international diplomacy, North Korea seeks to engage in dialogue with the U.S. By demonstrating the seriousness of the nuclear issue internationally, North Korea is attempting to arrest Washington’s attention.

Attention now swings to whether North Korea will actually attempt a long-range missile test or yet another nuclear test. Experts predict that the North may go ahead with a missile test either on April 15, the birthday of the nation’s late founder Kim Il-sung, or around October 10, the founding anniversary of the Workers’ Party. But Professor Kim says that it is unlikely that North Korea will launch any provocations this year, considering that Pyongyang is under strong pressure by China, which seeks stability. The North also needs to improve the overall conditions inside and outside the nation. Still, Professor Kim stresses a need for approaching North Korea’s missile and nuclear issues step by step, since there are numerous variables that could affect the situation North Korea faces now.

The issues of North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats cannot be resolved overnight. These issues represent contradictions and limitations of the North Korean regime, which is pushing ahead with a third-generation dynastic power transfer. Only a major change within this structure or a regime change will lead to a fundamental solution to the problems. Still, South Korea needs to control the situation effectively. While maintaining its ability to intervene in nuclear and missile disputes strategically, Seoul should devise ways to approach these issues step by step.

Amid increasing attention on North Korea’s latest movements and regional diplomacy, the involved countries need to make efforts on a variety of fronts to avoid a more serious conflict.



[Interview] Defector Runs North Korean-Style Rice Flour Shop In Shinwol-dong in the Yangcheon district, western Seoul, an interesting sign catches the eye. This is the “Magic Rice Flour” shop. A machine is operating tirelessly in the 33-square-meter shop. The machine is producing rice flour used for making a special kind of North Korean rice cake. Let’s hear from North Korean defector Kim Geum-sil, who developed the special rice flour in South Korea.

It is called “speed war rice flour” in North Korea. I think the phrase “speed war” reflects the North Korean situation where everything should be finished quickly. If you pour water over the rice flour, you can eat rice cake immediately, almost in a minute. North Korea holds nationwide emergency drills once or twice a year. People have to participate in the drills in the mountains for about three days. As they are not allowed to make a fire to avoid being detected, they bring this special rice flour with them as emergency food supply.

As the name indicates, the “speed war rice flour” is made into rice cake easily and quickly, anytime and anywhere. To make the rice cake, all you have to do is mix water with the rice flour at 1:1 ratio, add some salt or sugar and knead it. Ms. Kim came to South Korea in 2001 in search of freedom. She came up with an idea to make the rice cakes she used to eat when she was little and started the rice flour business last August.

I found myself reminiscing about the old rice cake. I scoured markets and shops in the neighborhood, but there weren’t any instant rice cakes whatsoever. Fortunately, I happened to purchase five kilograms of the North Korean rice flour through an unofficial route from North Korea. My South Korean husband loved the taste of the rice cake made with the special rice flour. I explained to him the origin of the rice cake and the method of making it. It came to me that I could use this as a new business item. So I started the business and set up a plant. My business even earned the title of “social enterprise.”

In North Korea, corn flour is used for making this rice cake because rice is a rarity there. To please the South Korean palate, however, Ms. Kim changed up the ingredients, developing three kinds of rice cake made from brown rice, five mixed grains and corn flour. Children are fond of the delicious and beautiful rice cake, with an assortment of bread crumbs and almonds and sunflower seeds decorated on top. And the number of customers hoping to enjoy rice cakes in their own way is increasing gradually. Ms. Kim’s efforts do not end here, though. It’s been less than a year since she started running the business and South Koreans are not very familiar with this North Korean rice cake. As a promotion effort, she has displayed the rice flour on one side of the restaurant run by an acquaintance and has visited groups of North Korean defectors. Here, Kim expresses her hopes.

My hope is to raise public recognition of this rice cake so that many more people can enjoy it. I also hope to become a role model for many North Korean newcomers. I wish they will think, “Oh, she’s been working really hard. If I make efforts, I can be like her, can’t I?” There are many North Korean children who came to South Korea alone without their parents. I want to offer scholarships to the unfortunate kids, though only in a small way, to help them pursue their studies.

Her wish is that her rice flour will remind North Korean expatriates of their old favorite tastes and memories, and will appeal to South Korean citizens as a popular and healthy snack.