Sohae Satellite Launching Station: Vertical Engine Test Stand 2012-2021
North Korea has made major improvements to the Sohae Satellite Launching Station since 2012, transforming it into the country’s showcase space launch center.
The Vertical Engine Test Stand at Sohae is North Korea’s largest liquid-fuel engine test stand. Major upgrades were made to the stand in 2015, including the construction of a rail-mounted environmental shelter, making detection of engine test activity more difficult.
While the Vertical Engine Test Stand was mostly dismantled in 2018 after the first US-DPRK summit in Singapore, it was promptly rebuilt in 2019 after the two sides failed to reach an agreement at the second US-DPRK summit in Hanoi.