Tag: Iran

Further Links Between North Korean & Iran’s Missile Program Uncovered

| March 6, 2010

It looks like North Korea’s activities helping the Iranian military is continuing to expand:

An open-source intelligence publishing group says North Korea may be helping Iran build new rocket-launch facilities.

IHS Jane’s said Friday that a new rocket-launch pad was spotted by satellite in the city of Semnan some four hours east of the Iranian capital of Tehran. According to the London-based intelligence group, analysis suggests that Iran has been collaborating with North Korea to build the launch pad.

Jane’s said Iran made public its “Simorgh” space-launch vehicle (SLV) on February third but did not make public the location of the rocket’s launch complex.

Jane’s was quoted as saying that the platforms seen on the new gantry tower resemble those seen on the gantry tower at North Korea’s new launch pad at Tongchang and a drainage pit 170 meters in front of the pad also mirrors one at Pyongyang’s new west-coast launch site.

The group also said that the first stage of the Simorgh strongly resembles the North Korean Unha-Two, with four clustered engines and nearly the same dimensions.  [KBS Global]

You can read more about North Korea and Iran’s military cooperation here, here, and here.

I went on Google Earth and did a little exploring around the Semnan area in Iran and was able to located the launch facility supposedly constructed by the North Koreans:

semnan 1

This launch facility is located way out in a very isolated desert area:

semnan 3

Here is the lonely base camp that I imagine must suck to be stationed at:

semnan 2

Here is the actual launch site itself:

semnan 4

Here are two launch sites from the North Korea and judging from the Google Earth imagery they actually don’t like all that much a like:

nk launch site 1

nk launch site 2

Can any readers make out obvious similarities from the Google Earth imagery because I sure can’t.

North Korean Tunnel Construction in Iran

| July 14, 2007

Here is an interesting report from Strategy Page:

In central Iran, satellite photos revealed several tunnels being dug into a mountain near a nuclear weapons research facility. Several other nuclear research facilities have had some of their operations moved underground, but this tunneling operation is one of the most ambitious “protective” efforts yet undertaken. Iranian officials have been to North Korea, and seen the extensive underground facilities there. It’s possible, even likely, that North Korean engineers are lending their expertise (for a fee) to assist the Iranians in their tunnel construction. Tunnels for industrial facilities are not quite the same as highway, aqueduct or mining tunnels, which Iran has many of.

I did a little research and through Global Security.org I was able to locate the nuclear weapons research facility in central Iran.  The facility is located 15 kilometers southeast of the city of Isfahan.  The facility operates four nuclear reactors that were supplied by China.  I did a little Google Earthing to locate the site.  Here is where the city of Isfahan is located in relation to the rest of Iran:

Here is an image of where the nuclear facility is located in the vicinity of the city of Isfahan:

Here is a close up look at the nuclear facility:

Here is a still image of what this facility looks like:

To the northwest of the facility you can see the excavation occurring on the side of the moutain:

It appears that the center of the excavation is a possible concrete production facility to facilitate the construction of the bunker complex.  I highlighted on the image two bunkers that I could see that appeared either completed or at least their entrances are completed.  There is also what appears to be three possible large concrete buildings as well that may hide possible entrances to additional bunkers.  I could also make out what appears to be digging for two more bunkers on each side of the excavation area where our industrious North Korean engineers are hard at work for the Iranian mullahs.

Just another example that the enemies of the United States have no problem collaborating and working together in order to undermine the United States and the world community in general.