Fireworks strips being installed across the Taedong River today (right). My baselining shows this happens 1-2 weeks prior to North Korean military parade. Another indicator that the party congress start date is imminent, considering 2021 congress lasted 8 days and parade was 2 days after.

using a camera attached to the side of a missile for video of this test, but not published for the KCNA photo spread like it has in the past (is that a little streaming indicator, kbps?)

This is in the shadow of the Tower to Waterway Project 물길공사기념탑 in Sukchon County (inaugurated may18, 2012)

Known target island off NE coast, North Korea's claim of 258.5 km and ROKJCS saying north Pyongyang bring us to this area. Seems on the highway near some known launchpads, and generally lots of tests from around here (39°24'12.75" N, 125°40'28.33" E) www.nknews.org/2026/01/kim-...

The top one is the Phyongsan uranium plant beyondparallel.csis.org/pyongsan-ura...

President Lee reacts quickly, calls for investigating the situation. This to me seems like a strange statement. One would expect him to wait some time to gather the facts, then deny it, both if he did or didn't do it. Implies he suspects rogue units did it? www.news1.kr/diplomacy/de...

North Korea is now accusing South Korea of two more recon drone incursions in Sept and last week, both under pro-engagement Lee admin. www.nknews.org/2026/01/nort...

Read more about the Ryongchon incident here www.nknews.org/2019/01/the-...

This film is crazy. Does it serve as NK acknowledging the 2004 Ryongchon Station explosion really was an assassination attempt on Kim Jong Il? Really seems they copy that for this film, changing conspicuously to Ryongam Station www.nknews.org/2026/01/viol...

these dance moves seem like a decade old even in North Korea, but here's their latest example of NK-Pop boy band/girl band dancing for the people at the NYE concert

Spotted a couple at North Korea's Sinuiju greenhouse farm project being built by "youth volunteers" under Kim Jong Un's orders. Never seen this kinda PDA at a project site before. Winter work camp romance

Looks like North Korea's "hypersonic" missile test was conducted from around the same spot as March 27, 2023 and Hwsong-11A SRBM and Sep. 12, 2024 600mm MLRS tests, around a bunch of missile bases in Junghwa/Ryokpho south of Pyongyang (38°52'27.17" N 125°55'45.60" E) www.nknews.org/2026/01/nort...

On the location of the NLOS guided missile factory Kim Jong Un visited Jan. 3 (reported Jan. 4), I don't recognize guy 1 and guy 2, but guy 3 was previously at the Songgan electronics factory unblurred, suggesting he was a general munitions official not manager there kcnawatch.org/newstream/17...

ROK JCS says detected North Korea launching cruise missiles at 8am Dec. 28 from Sunan in Pyongyang (airport area), but seems NK's photo shows launch from a bridge at Anju (39°37'27.55" N 125°37'22.32" E) (see bridge V pillars, power lines/towers). Is JCS detection wrong, or NK's photos false?

Estimating the length of North Korea's "8,700 ton nuclear-powered" missile submarine unveiled in full for the first time today -120 to 132m long -Located at Pongdae Submarine Factory in Sinpho -Inside 195x35m hall -On tracks south half of hall -~8.4m wide tracks, can't see how much hull hangs over

Might see Kim Jong Un visit Air Force HQ or some other related event around Nov. 29, the official 80th anniversary of the DPRKAF

In 2011 authorities quietly began building a new power plant in the hopes of solving Pyongyang's energy shortage. Then, just as quietly, it demolished the site last year. mynorthkorea.blogspot.com/2025/11/gone...

Today's reveal of the Supreme Court reminds me to share this from KCTV footage in August, showing the new big building of the Party Munitions Industry Department 군수공업부 inside the WPK CC HQ complex (39.02224° N, 125.74516° E)

New North Korean Supreme Court (최고재판소) building 39.01805° N, 125.68811° E

Bit suspicious of this new big green roof factory building south of Songhwa Street in Pyongyang, since it was roofed faster than the school supplies building next door that KJU visited earlier this month (above it, and pic2), but not included in that report. Reminds me of that weapons factory..

I mistakenly posted that the time between Japan's alerts on launch and splashdown was 18 mins, but it was 8 mins (12:37 and 12:45 pm), pointing more toward an SRBM launch. Developing story here www.nknews.org/2025/11/nort...

The KPA 11th Corps Command HQ that KJU visited last weekend is located in Tokchon smack dab in the center of the country (39.77194° N, 126.32609° E). AKA Special Operations Forces, previously confirmed by its name Unit 630 in KJI visit report pics from Feb. 1, 2010 and Dec. 1, 2011

what's your favorite bowie song?

North Korea held another weapons expo! Some new developments: -Hwasong-11E (화성-11마) is a new SRBM with HGV? -still showing large SLBM never tested. blue checkered UUV behind -new unmanned surface vessel? likely to be in the oct10 parade -green paint scheme drone on left

Ended up being that North Korea photoshopped this replica Blue House out of multiple photos www.nknews.org/pro/north-ko...

KJU at "training base No. 38" watching some sniper drills reportedly on Sept 12. I recognize that too-well-manicured hill. and those mountains. this is the 'Jindallae Guesthouse' missile test area where there's a ton of new construction going on, detailed here: www.nknews.org/pro/major-co...

First image today clearly showing full-scale military parade practice at North Korea's Mirim complex, though we've seen signs of this for months already. Looking like Oct. 10 for the parade. Read more here: www.nknews.org/pro/thousand...

This is absolutely new, hanging a Kim Jong Un portrait at an event. He's gradually centering his own cult of personality, making Kim Il Sung/Kim Jong Il mere distant past figures. First paintings/murals of himself, then his portrait at only the party cadre school, then badges only for WPK CC members

This part doesn't read well. I get he's saying 'I'm doing you a favor,' North Koreans do covet the benefits of the Hero of the Republic medal, but sounds more like 'nobody gave me permission but I'm taking your children, better thank me.' Makes it all about himself too www.nknews.org/2025/08/kim-...

North Korea continues with this intentionally vague admission of deaths fighting in their war on Ukraine and the "US-backed West." This time I count 250 portraits of dead soldiers held by families in group photos, including people I recognize from the previous event. www.nknews.org/2025/08/kim-...

North Korea showing off their prowess in making kitschy fake gold wall decorations (Aug 13). Many are saying Trump is getting his at Home Depot but we might also want to consider this avenue to DPRK-US detente

The special forces drills Kim Jong Un reportedly oversaw Wednesday appear to have taken place at the KPA Unit 525 HQ south of Pyongyang. The report says the unit is directly under the KPA General Staff. They conducted the ROK Blue House raid drills in the past www.nknews.org/2025/08/kim-...

North Korea's big program Friday on the Russia war deployment revealed KJU initially decided to send troops to Kursk at a CMC meeting on Aug. 28 last year, just a couple weeks after Ukraine started the Kursk incursion. We hadn't seen this date before. Also very explicitly framed as fighting "the US"

MRW just watched my comrades shoot themselves in the head and self-detonate all over the battlefield in glorious suicides fighting Russia's war on Ukraine but made it home for the NK-pop hardened soldier battle dance concert

You know KJU is in a good mood when he distributes his exclusive Sonamu cigarettes and ashtrays to the room www.nknews.org/2025/08/nort...

North Korean education warns to be careful around men wearing large crosses (Russian rock musician Shaman did a concert for KJU on Friday)

KJU got his own separate podium with aircon for his speech on Thursday

Official KCNA English this morning

There are two big foreign planes in Pyongyang today, unannounced it seems, probably Russian. With the Trump-Putin meeting coming up, one begins to wonder if any immediate NK-Russia negotiations were in order..

Found that the Il-76 North Korea turned into this early warning aircraft (which isn't being used still it seems) is the one with tail number P-913, since their other two (P-912, P-914) were used during March 2024 paratrooper drills. reaired HD KCTV footage confirms this, wasn't visible at the time

And now, the same event from the Azerbaijan Presidential press office: Ilham Aliyev, neck smoothed to the max, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s neck like a ploughed field. No love lost between dictators

Today in presidential neck-smoothing, a compare and contrast. First, from the Turkmenistan government press office: Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with a smooth neck, Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan with a neck like a ploughed field.

Turkmenistan, and a new contender emerges. This is Oguljahan Atabayeva, daughter of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and sister of President Serdar, who is being Groomed For Great Things so she qualifies for the unfeasibly smooth neck work offered by the government press office.

Been sitting on this for a while due to low photo res, but maybe evidence pushing back timeline of North Korean-Russia weapons cooperation: -Feb 2022 Russia invades Ukraine -**June 2022** CMC meeting, books featuring likely Putin, KJU, weapons -Sep 2022 US intel reportedly says Russia buying NK arms

How big is North Korea's ICBM force? Vann Van Diepen responds to the DIA's recent estimate that the DPRK deploys "10 or fewer" ICBMs.

As expected, Kim Jong Un attended a ceremony to open the giant Wonsan Kalma beach resort zone on Tuesday (delayed report in state media Thursday), saying it can accommodate 20,000 people, maybe the largest enclosed resort in the world www.nknews.org/2025/06/nort...

North Korea's gigantic Wonsan Kalma beach resort is scheduled to finally open this month. Seems the red carpet is out at the Kalmaegi Hotel this morning (Planet Labs pic1, pic2 was June 19), might mean a ceremony today or soon. Pics 3+4 show the location above the driveway, prob the banquet spot

That said, Stanton offers one important caveat: "If Trump doesn't care what the law says and Congress won't get in his way, that opens up all kinds of possibilities." So, we should continue to track what the U.S. tries to achieve in any future DPRK diplomacy...