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Rocket launching site in North Korea

The Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground(동해위성발사장), also known as Musudan ri (hangul=무수단리), is a rocket launching site in North Korea.

It lies in southern Hwadae County, North Hamgyong Province, near Musu Dan, the cape marking the northern end of the East Korea Bay. The area was formerly known as Taep'o dong (대포동) during the period when Korea was occupied by Japan, and the Taepodong rockets take their name from this. This single loose surface road is susceptible to seasonal flooding. The site is 45 km northeast of port city of Kimchaek and 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the town of Kilju (길주읍). There is a small wharf located at the fishing village of Tongha dong but can only accommodate vessels smaller than 40 meters in length.

By the early 1980s, North Korea needed a flight test facility for its program to reverse engineer and produce copies of the Scud B which it acquired from the Soviet Union in the late 60s. Previously, North Korea used a facility at Hwajin ri (華進里), Pyongwon kun, South Pyongan Province to test for anti ship missiles and probably FROGs, surface to air missiles (SAMs) and other rockets. However, Hawjin ri had insufficient range for the Hwasong 5, which would enter Chinese territorial waters during a test. The construction of the facility continued off and on throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Construction was made by the 117th Regiment under the Air Force Construction Bureau (空軍建設部) of the Ministry of People's Armed Forces. Construction of the launch pad was completed in 1985. During the early stage of construction, the site had an extremely rudimentary infrastructure, such as a few roads, a command bunker, a radar facility, and modest storage and support facilities. However, by the early 1990s, the Tonghae site was reportedly expanded from 2 km to 9 km and the following infrastructure was added: a missile assembly facility, a fuel storage facility, a guidance and range control center, and tracking facilities. The first launch from the site is reported to have occurred on 1 April 1984. and has been since 2014.

The facilities at Musudan ri are modest, consisting of a disused launch pad at and a new launch pad at The disused launch pad consists of a 30 meter umbilical tower with a top mounted gantry crane, a flame blast bucket, a launch blockhouse with a connecting access tunnel, two semi buried liquid fuel storage buildings, a concrete apron/pad and multiple small support buildings. An engine test stand at , a missile assembly/checkout building at , a missile control building at and a Ground Tracking Facility (coordinates obtained from Wikimapia in April 2024).