This post is from July 2009. Facts and links may have changed since. See more from that month

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DPRK: Nodong Factory Floor

Wonk-reader Tal Inbar sends this image of a Nodong missile on its plant floor. Presumably, it was taken in the final assembly hall. Unfortunately, it doesn’t show some of the more interesting portions of the missile (would it have killed them to show the business end of engine section?). It does show that this portion of the plant does not have an overhead bridge crane as is clearly visible in the Safir assembly hall. That thing running just below what appears to be a flat ceiling looks to me to be a cable tray. Perhaps to run diagnostic signals from G&C units to a central computer room? The hall is well lit with white walls to take full advantage of the artificial lighting. (You would be surprised how many factories leave their walls unpainted, producing a considerable overall dimming.)

Just out of curiosity, do any of you wonk-readers know what the Korean character is in front of the numbers on the missile’s side? It looks like a lambda with a bar over it (to put it in a framework I can relate to).

Geoff Forden

Writing on ACW 2008–2010

Dr. Forden has been at MIT since 2000 where his research includes the analysis of Russian and Chinese space systems as well as trying to understand how proliferators acquire the know-how and industrial infrastructure to produce weapons of mass destruction.

All posts by Geoff Forden