Sohae Satellite Launching Station

Sohae Satellite Launching Station (Korean: 서해위성발사장; Hanja: 西海衛星發射場; MR: Sŏhae Wisŏng Palsajang, also known as Tongch'ang-dong Space Launch Center and Pongdong-ri) is a rocket launching site in Tongch'ang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The base is located among hills close to the northern border with China. The spaceport was built on the site of the village Pongdong-ri which was displaced during construction. It was the site for the 13 April 2012 launch of the North Korean satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, which was launched to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-Sung. The rocket launch failed, but on 12 December of the same year Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 was successfully launched and brought into Earth orbit.

The launches were controversial as they were dismissed by the US as tests of ballistic missile technology and hence of breach of an agreement made between North Korea and the US in February 2012.During the 2018 North Korea–United States summit, Kim Jong-un promised that North Korea would destroy a missile engine test stand soon. The site was not initially named but was later identified to be the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground by US officials. This pledge was made official as part of the Pyongyang Declaration which Kim and South Korean leader Moon Jae-In signed at the September 2018 inter-Korean summit. On 31 October 2018, South Korean officials visited the site and confirmed it was being dismantled and ready for an upcoming inspection. But in early 2019, after a summit between North Korea and the U.S. ended without an agreement, North Korea began rebuilding of the site. A test took place in December 2019, which confirmed that the site was once again operational.