“N. KOREA SETTING UP ICBM BRIGADES”

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea has been striving to make their presence clear with their nuclear power, and they've been focusing on developing nuclear warheads along with intercontinental ballistic missiles and ICBMs. KBS has found that satellite images of North Korea's ICBM brigades located near the Chinese border, show the number of living quarters had expanded over the past two years.

[Pkg]

The South Korean military believes four of the 13 missile brigades of the North Korean Strategic Rocket Forces are tasked with ICBMs. One of them located in Hoejung-ri, Jagang-do Province near the border with China, has been captured by a satellite. The images show the entrance, security facilities, the headquarters and a space for hiding the missiles, all stretching over four kilometers along a ravine. The facility appears similar to the way it looked two years ago, meaning this brigade was set up at least two years ago. By contrast, the area around Hoejung train station has changed a lot. There are now 83 instead of the previously spotted 43 buildings. Moreover, 23 new structures have been built in what used to be an empty plot nearby. Hoejung-ri is a high-lying area rarely visited by people. There are no farms or factories there, meaning the new structures likely serve as living quarters for the brigade troops. The establishment of a missile brigade consists of four stages facility construction, brigade organization and deployment, training, and operation. Military experts say this brigade in Hoejung-ri is in the third stage the training.

[Soundbite] Chung Kyung-un(Korea Research Institute for Strategy) : "They have probably planned this for quite a while. Judging from the presence of living quarters, this facility will be fully equipped to carry out military operations."

The goal of a massive repair of northern railway tracks passing by the Hoejung train station is apparently to transport heavy ICBMs. Experts say North Korea will likely hide its ICBMs in underground shafts and use them when in need. This poses a difficulty. Located only some 20km from the inter-Korean border, this brigade is not easy to strike for South Korea and the U.S.