Quick Take: New Seaport Shaping Up at Sohae Satellite Launching Station

The full nature of the seaport at North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launch Center is finally becoming apparent, more than two years after construction began. Commercial satellite imagery reveals infrastructure that will allow cargo vessels to dock and unload large goods, but exactly what remains is unclear.

This work in the port area is part of a large modernization and expansion push that began after Kim Jong Un visited in 2022. A new coastal launch pad has already been built and used, and work continues at several locations across the site on new buildings and railway lines, all pointing to long term space program development plans.

Port Construction

Work around the coastal area, located in the south of the site, began two and a half years ago with the construction of a quay and jetty. Around the same time, work began on a road from the launch center to the port. Connecting the seaport to the rest of the site suggests it will service the launch center in some way.

The pace of work at the port has been slow over most of the last two years, but picked up around April this year and reflected an apparent change in plans. The large concrete blocks that had been placed to build a quay were moved to aid in significant expansion of the jetty.

The jetty now includes a docking slip for large vessels, and what appear to be rails on either side of the slip. If they are rails, this suggests that a crane is to be installed for loading or unloading heavy items to or from ships. Additionally, the dirt road that runs from the dock to the rest of the launching station is being surfaced.

What the infrastructure will be used for is unclear. North Korea currently transports rocket parts to Sohae Satellite Launching Station by rail. The components are offloaded on a covered railway platform and taken to an assembly building. As part of the site’s upgrades and modernization efforts, a new and larger assembly building has been constructed, and now has direct rail access.

It is possible that ferrying parts by sea has been identified as a better way to transport some components to the launch center, in which case the new jetty will serve that role.

It is also possible that the jetty is being built to accommodate recovery efforts after launches, locating rocket first stages as they fall into the water. After its most recent launch attempt in May 2023, South Korea recovered parts of the rocket and was able to gain intelligence about North Korea’s satellite program from the salvaged components. Because of this, North Korea could be looking to prevent this in the future.

The exact use of the new port will not become clear for some time. Other projects throughout the site have yet to be completed; it remains to be seen how the new efforts at Sohae will all fit together.