Here's Why The Media Is Lying About "Reconstruction" At North Korea's Sohae Launch Facility
Authored by William Craddick via Disobedient Media,


In the aftermath of the Hanoi Summit, President Trump has been barraged with attempts to undermine his confidence in the good faith of Kim Jong Un and his intentions to deal fairly with the United States in the negotiation process concerning denuclearization and de-escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. One of the primary causes of concern has been a series of reports from NBC News claiming that "commercial" satellite footage shows that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been engaging in fresh construction at their Sohae Launch Facility in preparation for an alleged missile launch or test.

I. Satellite Footage Of Sohae Launch Facility Is Misrepresented

The NBC report, written by Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee and Andrea Mitchell, concerns satellite imagery released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) purported to have been taken on March 2, 2019. The imagery suffers from two defects - the fact that the images show two different facilities being attributed as one by the media, and that the purported construction activity indicates dismantling of the Sohae site rather than fresh additions or repairs. Side by side comparisons of the photos show that they are in fact taken from two different locations. This discrepancy might be apparent to an analyst with knowledge of North Korea's Sohae Launch Facility, but not to an average member of the public.
Analysis of the photos indicates deconstruction for a number of reasons which are outlined below:
  • The positioning of the two cranes in the photo is not advantageous for construction of a tower since they cannot efficiently raise material to it from the ground level. The cranes are so close together that their arms are at risk of colliding during construction.
  • The image shows that materials are in fact being moved from the towers into a paved area in the center of the facility where they can be more easily removed by vehicles.
  • Tire skid marks on the pavement in the facility appear to show that vehicles were loaded with heavy materials before leaving rather than entering with large amounts of freightage on board.
  • Buildings at the facility are in a state of partial dismantlement or have otherwise been untouched. If the facility was being rebuilt, all surrounding buildings would be refurbished before work began on the tower.
  • The crane closest to the tower has been outfitted with a shorter arm. This is a strong indication that it is bringing tower segments down to the ground level rather than raising them. The second crane is outfitted with a longer arm to take pieces disassembled by the first crane and lower them to the ground level in the center of the facility where they would be stacked for removal.

The photo even appears to show a flatbed trailer near the central paved area which may have been used for the purpose of removing disassembled materials. The activity in the photos has been totally misrepresented with the intent to cause viewers to interpret the activity as construction. This analysis is consistent with a report from the Washington Post in July 2018 labeling similar behavior at Sohae Satellite Launching Station as dismantling of a rail-mounted processing building.

II. The Sources Of The Imagery Are Tied To Intelligence Services & Special Interests

An investigation into the sources of the imagery and accompanying analysis creates serious doubts about the incentives with which they are being presented to the public and the groups involved in the Korean peace negotiations. NBC News based their report on the Sohae activity on analysis from Beyond Parallel, a project run by CSIS. An examination of Beyond Parallel's About page shows ties to  the Heritage Foundation, the Atlantic Council-connected Korea Foundation and the Brzezinski Institute on Geostrategy. All of these groups have advocated for hawkish US policies towards North Korea that will not be conducive to productive negotiations.

CSIS itself is currently run by John Hamre, former Deputy Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton and former Rockefeller fellow. CSIS' corporate officers include members of the Brzezinski Institute on Geostrategy, a Henry A. Kissinger Chair and other individuals with work histories related to foreign policy and the American defense industry. It would be remiss to say that such connections do not indicate a strong bias against President Trump's attempts to seek denuclearization and peaceful dialogue with North Korea.
The images themselves were represented by NBC News as being "commercial" in nature. An examination of the companies from which they are sourced shows that they are in fact deeply tied to groups that do consistent business with the CIA and defense industry.
The March 2, 2019 photos are sourced from DigitalGlobe.
DigitalGlobe began its existence in Oakland, CA and was seeded with money from Silicon Valley sources and corporations in North America, Europe and Japan. Headquartered in Westminster CO, DigitalGlobe works extensively with defense and intelligence programs. In 2016, it was revealedthat DigitalGlobe was working with CIA chipmaker NVIDIA and Amazon Web Services to create an AI-run satellite surveillance network known as Spacenet.

The decision by NBC News to include a plethora of biased sources of analysis which appear to have intentionally been misrepresenting the nature of satellite footage of the DPRK's Sohae Satellite Launching Station seriously calls their journalistic integrity into question.