Kumchang-ri Underground Facility

Kumchang-ri Underground Facility
Chosŏn'gŭl	금창리 지하 시설
Hancha	金昌里 地下 设施
Revised Romanization	Geumchangli Jiha Siseol
McCune–Reischauer	Kŭmch'angni Chiha Shisŏl

Kumchang-ri Underground Facility (Korean: 금창리 지하 시설) is an excavated area in North Korea, north of the city of Kusong, that consists of tunnels, dams, and pipelines.^[1]

History

The facility was originally discovered in 1989 with satellite imagery by the United States. The images showed construction crews installing pipelines and tunnels beneath the ground. The United States confronted North Korea about the new facility being built, and North Korea stated it was being used for food storage. However, North Korea said that the United States would need to pay US$300 million in order to access the site.^[1] An agreement was reached, and after payment of 600,000 tons of food, the United States was allowed to inspect the facility in May, 1999. The inspection did not conclude that the new facility was used for housing a nuclear facility, and after a second inspection in May, 2000, the United States decided that the facility would not be suitable for a nuclear facility.^[2][3]

References

1. "GEUMCHANG-RI UNDERGROUND FACILITY". Nuclear Threat Initiative.
2. Pike, John. "Kumchangni - North Korean Special Weapons Facilities". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
3. Wit, Joel (22 January 2019). "What I Learned Leading America's 1st Nuclear Inspection In North Korea". National Public Radio. Retrieved 27 October 2019.

40°6′46.20″N 125°7′53.03″E