Quick Take: Progress on New Rail Spur at Sohae Satellite Launching Station
Commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Station shows construction of the new railway spur is advancing while nearby, workers chip away at a large hillside near the east tunnel entrance.
The railway spur will allow trains, presumably carrying rocket stages, to enter the site and head towards a new assembly building that has been under construction. Soil is being added to the rail bed for support.
Near the new assembly building, concrete pavers are being placed with a gap left for the railway line to be laid. It appears that trains will head towards the west tunnel entrance at the site then back-up into the assembly building.
The tunnel already runs through a large hill. However, workers are cutting through the hillside near the east tunnel entrance to lay what will likely be a new road or railway. The clearing is being done from an area adjacent to the existing tunnel entrance, begging the question as to whether a second entrance is planned.
