Kusong
Kusong in North Pyongan Province is said to be a significant military industrial area, with many secret munitions plants standing roof-to-roof. North Korean uranium mines are also reportedly located in Kusong in North Pyongan province, Pyongsan in North Hwanghae province, and Sunchon in South Pyongan province.
The small city of Kusong in the mountains north of Pyongyang, and the facility is located just 30 kilometers northwest of Yongbyon.
In late 1998 it was reported that satellite photos show that high explosive tests, a preparatory step to produce detonators for nuclear weapons, have been conducted in a valley in Kusong, some 30km northwest of Yongbyon. The Kusong complex was said to include a factory that produces detonators, warehouses and a test site. North Korea reportedly built a high explosives test site, which is essential to nuclear weapons development, in a valley between T'aech'on County and Kusong County in North P'yongan Province, and has conducted three to four high explosives tests.
According to other reports in late 2002, the tests are said to be conducted deep inside two mine shafts to elude detection by satellites. The site is guarded by 2,500 soldiers, some of whom are deployed as spy-hunting teams in nearby mountains, and machine-gun emplacements overlook entrances to key facilities. South Korean newspapers have reported that in late 1997, a North Korean soldier provided samples of topsoil from the area to a South Korean intelligence agent. The soil samples reportedly contained radioactive particles typical of residue from a full-scale high-explosive test using fissile material. Some of the parts needed for the tests are reportedly manufactured at factories located just south of the test sites.
