A private beach at Kim Jong Un’s east coast Majon mansion was the launch site of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) on Jan. 27, according to analysis by a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

The findings follow an NK Pro report released Monday that revealed North Korea’s Jan. 25 cruise missile test occurred in front of a luxury hotel next door to Kim’s Majon compound. 

Joseph Dempsey, a research associate for defense and military analysis at IISS, concluded that the short-range test two days later must have occurred just down the shoreline after comparing satellite imagery and official photos released by DPRK state media showing glimpses of the manicured Majon mansion beach around the launch vehicle.

Geolocation of #NorthKorea‘s 27 Jan KN-23 SRBM launch to to private Majon beach (39°48’44.73″N 127°39’49.73″E) pic.twitter.com/z77oQ8tMIp

— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) February 7, 2022

The South Korean military assessed that North Korea launched the SRBMs (known as KN-23 missiles) from somewhere near the city of Hamhung, without pinpointing the precise location at Kim’s mansion. A North Korean report about the launch also did not disclose the location.

Both Jan. 25 and Jan. 27 missile tests came as state media confirmed Kim Jong Un was in Hamhung and a nearby military airfield around the same time, suggesting he may have personally attended the launches despite no mention of this in state media.

Dempsey’s finding that a missile launcher entered Kim’s private compound on Jan. 27 makes it highly likely that the DPRK leader was present during the test that day, raising questions over why he chose to hide his attendance. Kim was pictured at a missile test on the same beach in Aug. 2019.

However, state media has only confirmed the North Korean leader’s presence at one missile launch since March 2020: The second “hypersonic” test last month. 

Ankit Panda, a Stanton senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told NK Pro that Kim Jong Un may be staying out of the missile test reports out of concern for “domestic perceptions.”

“Staying out of the tests gives a certain additional degree of prominence to the officials who do guide these events, which could be a tactical choice for internal reasons,” he said. Besides individual generals, the Academy of Defense Science, Munitions Industry Department and Second Economic Commission have also been credited with guiding recent tests. 

“There’s also an element of normalization,” Panda added. “Kim might love his missiles and view every test, but it looks a little odd to have a national leader monitor each and every test of new and old weapons alike. What other country does that?”

Panda said that compared to the present, it made more sense back in 2017 for Kim to publicly guide tests to “signal his strategy concerning [new] capabilities and to indicate the level of priority being placed on these systems” when the military was “blowing past major qualitative milestones.” 

NK Pro also previously found evidence to suggest Kim Jong Un may have been at his Sinuiju mansion on Jan. 14, the same day as a train-launched ballistic missile test was conducted just 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) away.

Prior to his recent streak of publicly staying away from missile tests, state media was caught trying to hide his presence at a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test in late 2019 — interpreted at the time as a nod to U.S. sensitivities over tests of nuclear-capable weapons or even a result of being ill or otherwise unprepared to appear in photos.

Meanwhile, according to NK Pro analysis, Kim Jong Un appeared to use the same private Majon beach that hosted the Jan. 27 missile test to film a horse-riding scene in summer 2021. The scene appeared in a new propaganda film released last week, indicating the spot continues to be one of his favorite retreats. 

Edited by Arius Derr