Location: Yongch'u-dong (龍秋洞), Yongsŏng-kuyŏk (龍城區域), Pyongyang (平壤市), North Korea

Subordinate to: Fourth Machine Industry Bureau (第4機械工業局), which is also known as the "Fourth General Bureau" (第4總局) or the "Missile Bureau" (미사일總局), Second Economic Committee (第2經濟委員會), National Defense Commission (國防委員會)

Size: According to North Korean defector Kim Kil Sŏn, the Man'gyŏngdae Electric Machinery Factory is a large underground facility with more than 1,500 employees, including about 600 Korean Workers Party members.

Primary Function: Assembly and mass production of missiles, including Nodong missiles and Silkworm anti-ship missiles

Description: According to Kim Kil Sŏn, construction of the Man'gyŏngdae Electric Machinery Factory began in 1965. Other sources claim it was originally a performance test facility under the Academy of National Defense Sciences until it was changed into an underground production facility in 1977. Kim Kil Sŏn says the factory was completed in 1978 and became North Korea's main underground missile production facility. The Man'gyŏngdae Electric Machinery Factory mass produces missiles after prototypes have passed performance tests at the No. Seven Factory in Yongsŏng-kuyŏk, and missile components are produced at this factory and elsewhere, and Pyongyang. North Korean defector Ko Yŏng Hwan claims the Man'gyŏngdae Electric Machinery Factory also produces Silkworm anti-ship missiles. Ko bases his claims on discussions with his elder brother Ko Bang Nam, who worked there as a senior design engineer. Most analysts now believe the Nodong ballistic missile has become the factory's main product. Given the factory's name, many believe the plant is located in Man'gyŏngdae-kuyŏk, a western district of Pyongyang; however, North Korean defectors have testified that the Man'gyŏngdae Electric Machinery Factory is located in Yongch'u-dong, Yongsŏng-kuyŏk. Kim Kil Sŏn says very few North Koreans, even high-ranking officials, know the precise locations of missile factories for security reasons. She claims there are approximately 200 North Korean factories that produce missile parts and components, and that there are numerous underground tunnels to move weapon-production facilities in order to avoid discovery and hostile military countermeasures. Kim also claims that almost all facilities with the designation "electric current" (弱電)" are missile production-related facilities, and that these facilities are underground.

	Updated April 2003

Key Sources:
Kim Kil Sŏn interview with Daniel A. Pinkston, 10 April 2001, Seoul; Kim Kil Sŏn interview with Daniel A. Pinkston, 23 August 2001, Seoul; Lee Jŏng Hun, "Pukhan Missile Shilche Irŭmŭn 'Hwasŏng'," Chugan Donga, No. 212, 9 December 1999, pp. 30-31; "Taepodong 2 Ho'nŭn Ŏpta," Joongang Ilbo, 12 January 2000, <http://www.joins.com>; Eya Osamu, Kim Sei Nichi Daizukan (Tokyo: Shogakkan, 2000), p. 149; Lee Yŏng Jong, "Puk Missile 'Hyŏpsang Ddaro' 'Such'ul Ddaro'," Joongang Ilbo, 29 March 1999, p. 5, in KINDS, <http://www.kinds.or.kr>; Kim In Ch'ŏl, "Chŏn Kim Jong Il T'ong'yŏkkwan'gyŏm Kowiwoe'gyo'gwan: Ko Yŏng Hwan'ŭn Malhanda: 6," Taehan Maeil, 9 October 1991, p. 5, in KINDS, <http://www.kinds.or.kr>; "Pukhanŭi Missile Kaebal Kunsa," Tongil News, 27 February 2001, <http://www.tongilnews.com>; Federation of American Scientists, "North Korea Special Weapons Guide," <http://www.fas.org>; "Sunch'ŏn Kaech'ŏn'e Missile Kongjang," Joongang Ilbo, 10 January 2000, <http://www.nk.joins.com>.