Subordinate to: Second Economic Committee (第2經濟委員會), National Defense Commission (國防委員會)

Primary Function: Missile-related production

Description: An unidentified number of North Korean defectors have testified that there is a missile production facility in Kangsŏ-kuyŏk, Namp'o. Namp'o has a large industrial sector that includes machinery and metal industries, so these claims are plausible, but the role of any missile-related facility in Namp'o is uncertain. Eya Osamu, a Japanese journalist, quotes a North Korean defector "Lee Yong Shik" (pseudonym) as saying there is a "missile assembly plant in Kiyang-dong (岐陽洞), Kangsŏ-kuyŏk, Namp'o." It is unclear whether the "missile-assembly plant" and the "missile-production factory" are identical or separate facilities. Another North Korean defector, An Yŏng Ch’ŏl, claims that all missiles developed indigenously are shipped to a facility in Namp’o to “install electronic-related equipment.” The meaning of the statement is unclear, as it would be unusual to transport a missile over any significant distance simply to add electronic equipment.  Moreover, it is unclear what type of electronic equipment would be added to a system after production.

	Updated June 2003

Key Sources:
Interview with South Korean Ministry of Unification official by Mari Sudo, research associate, Center for Nonproliferation Studies (via e-mail), 1 February 2002; Interview with Osamu Eya by Mari Sudo, research associate, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Tokyo, 9 October 2002; "Pukhan'ŭi Missile Kaebal Kunsa," Tongil News, 27 February 2001, <http://www.tongilnews.com>; Eya Osamu, Seimitsu: Sekaikikenchizu; Hanransuru Kitachosen, (Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten, 1995), p. 229; Choi Ho Yŏn, "Puk'e Missile Kongjang 4 Kot Isang Itta," Kyunghyang Shinmun, 26 March 1999, p. 5, in KINDS, <http://www.kinds.or.kr/>; Joseph S. Burmudez, Jr., The Armed Forces of North Korea, (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2001), p. 286; Korea Trade – Investment Promotion Agency, "Pukhan Kyŏngje Chŏngbo," <http://www.kotra.or.kr/>; Kim In Ku, "Namp'oshi (Tallajin Pungnyŏk'gojang: 10)," Chosun Ilbo, 15 January 1996, p. 11, in KINDS, <http://www.kinds.or.kr/>; Cho Hŏn Ju, "Pyongyanggwanmun...Kongdanbuji 30 Manp'yŏng/Namp'ohang Ŏddŏn Kos'in'ga," Donga Ilbo, 25 July 1992, p. 7, in KINDS, <http://www.kinds.or.kr/>; “Dappokushougun no saikoukimitsu: ‘Tairyouhakaiheki • chikayousai’ no zenbou,” Gekkan Gendai, 1 June 2003, pp. 28-40; “DPRK: ‘Ex-General’ Describes Underground Military Bases to Japan Journal—GRAPHIC,” Gendai (sic), 1 June 2003, pp. 28-40, FBIS Document ID: JPP 2003051400084.