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North Korea Space Agency

DPRK National Space Agency

(DPRKNSA)

Organization

&

Ballistic Missile Program

Organization

© By Charles P. Vick (All Rights Reserved)

Senior Technical Analyst, Globalsecurity.org

06-07-2010

North Korea’s Space, Ballistic Missile Administration, Development Infrastructure

North Korea’s space launch infrastructure facility is well know but until recently as noted below its space administrative infrastructure was undefined. Today in spite of these meager details it must be assumed to be an extension of the authoritarian (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ), DPRK government, military missile industry infrastructure of the ministry of the Korean Peoples Army organization. They in turn all operate under the same overall fiscal, Five Year Plan State Planning directives. Where on the State Organs side we also see the National Defense Commission which leads to the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces all of which are associated with and headed by Jon Pyong Ho [Chun Byong-ho], Secretary of Military Industry [The equivalent of minister Ustinov of the former USSR] on the Defense Commission as well as the Workers Party of Korea [WPK] side of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the Central Committee both of which are headed by Kim Chong-il [Kim Jung Il] and the newly appointed Jang Son Teak, Kim's brother in law vice chairman of the North Korean National Defense Commission. Workers party side of the house leads to the central committee and the Central Army Commission both of which are chaired by Kim Chong-il. The ministries and leadership formations seem to some what mimic the former USSR arrangements but not completely with a much more direct down chain of command reality. (1, 2, 3)

The Ballistic Missile & Space Industry

The Machine-building Industry minister is headed by Po Pyong Jub [The equivalent of minister Afanisiev of the former USSR space and ballistic missile program] reports to the National Defense Commission headed by Kim Chong-il via Jon Pyong Ho Secretary of Military Industry. All are employed under the same employer roof that the authoritarian DPRK government and its State Organs – (NDC) National Defense Council – Defense Commission-Ministry of the Peoples Armed Forces–Ministries-Machine building industry, DPRK National Space Agency (DPRKNSA). This major organization is the leading “DPRK Committee of Space Technology” which is probably the State Committee that is responsible for the State long-term plan for space and ballistic missile development that must include much of the ballistic missile military leadership and associated industry leaders responsible to the controlling DPRK leadership centered on Kim Chong-il absolute authority through the National Defense Commission. This in turn is linked to the 2 nd Economic Committee which in turn is linked to the 4 th General Bureau and its Number 2 Research Center and the DPRK Peoples Army Artillery Guidance Bureau and all the associated design bureau and testing organizations under their control spread over twenty or more industry infrastructure site. All of this is related to the Ministry of Korean People’s Armed Forces headed by Kim Yong-chun. (1, 2, 3)

Support Services Industries

Other related support services to these primary industries entities come under the State Academy of Sciences headed by Pyon Yong Rip, General Federation of Science and Technology headed by Chairman: Pyon Yong Rip, Post & Telecommunications headed by Ryu Yong Sop, Electric Industry headed by O Su Yong, Chemical Industry headed by Pak Song Nam, Metals Industry headed by Kim Thae Bong, Labor headed by Jong Yong Su, State planning Commission headed by Kim Kwang Rin and especially Construction Industries headed by Tong Jong Ho. Beyond that the Changkwang Trading Company, Korea Mining and Development Corp.(Komid), Mokong Trading Corp. and Sino-Ki for missile technology proliferation trade operations a major source of hard currency for the DPRK. (1, 2, 3) This is over and above the issues of the full circle technology transfer going on between Iran and the DPRK. This can be no better emphasized than by the quote from the Iranian News Agency (IRNA, 2-25-2009), of the statement by Choe Tae-bok the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly Chairman as he stated “We consider all Iranian technological achievements as our own achievements.”

The DPRK National Space Agency (DPRKNSA) State Commission with members of the National Defense Commission including Jon Pyong Ho, on Kim’s right Ju Kyu Chang, on Kim’s left, Ju Pyong Ju and other space industry leaders and military support personnel all headed under Kim Chong-il [Kim Jung Il] leadership.

References:

1. http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/dprk-leaders.pdf Open Source Center: DPRK Leadership Charts

2. http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/dprk-power.pdf Open Source Center: DPRK Divisions of Government Charts

3. - 18. By Sam Kim, N. Korea expected to be fully ready for rocket launch ahead of election:source, Yonhap News Agency, Feb. 24, 2009, p.1, and By Kim Hyun, N. Korea says it is preparing to launch “satellite”, Yonhap News Agency, Feb. 24, 2009 p. 1-2, along with N. Korea Insists It Will Launch “Satellite”, The Chosun Ilbo, Feb 25, 2009, p.1, and Edited by Dean Yates, TEXT-North Korea says preparing satellite launch, Reuters, Feb. 23, 2009, p. 1.