38 North, Satellite Image Comparison and Analysis
"Buildings Constructed Around Tunnel Area"
Active mining activities are underway at the Pyeongsan uranium mine in Hwanghaebuk-do, North Korea, and it has been claimed that mining operations have recently resumed in three tunnels that had been dormant for years. The Pyeongsan mine is a major production site for enriched uranium used in North Korea's nuclear weapons.
On the 7th (local time), 38 North, a U.S.-based North Korea specialist media outlet, reported that after comparing and analyzing satellite images of five tunnels at the Pyeongsan uranium mine from 2003 to the present, continuous mining work is taking place at the main tunnel closest to the refining plant (Tunnel 1). The media made this assessment based on changes in the piles of waste rock accumulated at the tunnel entrance.
Additionally, the media reported that new activity was detected in the other tunnels where no mining had been observed. 38 North refers to the five tunnels at the Pyeongsan mine sequentially as Tunnels 1 through 5. Tunnel 5, located furthest east, had been dormant for about eight years since 2003, but new buildings were constructed nearby in September 2020. Subsequently, new buildings were also erected near Tunnel 5 in July and September 2021.
38 North stated that after buildings were constructed around Tunnel 5, a large new pile of soil and rock was created by May of last year, describing this as "a clear indication that the mine is active and productive."
Tunnel 2 also saw new buildings constructed in 2021 after a period of no mining activity, and Tunnel 3 had new buildings and auxiliary structures built in October of last year. However, no changes in waste rock piles were observed at these two tunnels. Tunnel 4 has shown no changes since 2003, leading the media to conclude that mining operations there have ceased.
Furthermore, 38 North reported that in addition to two sinkholes existing between Tunnels 4 and 5 since before 2003, additional collapses occurred in 2019 and 2021. While the media noted that the sinkholes do not appear to be directly related to mining operations, it stated, "the most recent sinkhole appeared alongside the resumption of activity at Tunnel 5, and it is possible that the use of explosives during mining triggered the collapse of soil and rock."
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