S.Korea: North’s missile parts from China, NHK World (With video)
“The South Korean military says part of the North Korean missile launched last month were made in China. South Korea’s military has analyzed pieces of the debris from the three-stage rocket, including a fuel tank that were salvaged in the Yellow Sea. A military official says some of the parts appear to have been imported from five countries including China.”

10 replies on “Report: Chinese Parts Found in North Korea Rocket Debris”

  2. I have wondered what a 1st stage would look like after it hit the water.Not much damage on the tank.Skin pushed in slightly.The height and speed may be different with F9,but this video validates what I have been saying after viewing the damage the ground does to Soyuz.If  the F9 tanks are sealed,they should float.Construction could be different.
     I wonder if the engines come from the salvagers of Soyuz? 5 different countries may have broken UN sanctions to send them parts for this rocket.

    1. The North Korean rocket used three stages so the first stage would be traveling slower and at a lower altitude at separation compared to the Falcon 9 first stage.  One might also speculate that the North Korean design is less optimized than Falcon 9 and could be heavier and contain more structure and a thicker skin.

  3. No big surprise there.  China is pretty much North Korea’s only ‘friend’ (although I think that friendship is somewhat one-sided).  It makes sense that at least some high-tech from North Korea will have Chinese-sourced electronic components and maybe Chinese-made alloys in the hardware too.

    Of course, this will not please the Americans and it certainly will not please the Japanese.  It should be interesting to see if either country is willing to hold China accountable for their (plausibly unknowing) involvement in this matter.  This is especially in light of the growing Sino-Japanese tension in the East China Sea.

  4. So… Who are the other four countries? Why not name them?

    I’m guessing because it would be “embarrassing” for them – on the other hand China is easy to lay public blame on.

    2. I. too, wondered why the other four countries were not named.  The other obvious omission is that the news article doesn’t mention the possibility that the parts in question were obtained by unofficial or illegal means, in some or all cases.  They could have been stolen or acquired outside of official channels.

      It’s quite possible that the people responsible for these”parts” have no idea how they got to North Korea.  It certainly seems like an opportunity for some underling to make a lot of money.  And what country is going to admit that high-tech materials were stolen from one of their most guarded facilities?

      1. The parts might also have come from non-military, non-space products.  For example, North Korea could have taken a microprocessor out of a cell phone and used it in their rocket.  I doubt it violates any U.N. sanctions to sell a cell phone to a North Korean diplomat, who is then free to send it back home.

        Anyway, there are probably lots of useful electronic components in North Korea that were shipped there long before any sanctions.  You can’t stop them from using what they’ve already acquired.

        So what is really interesting is whether any of the parts were not dual-use: things that are only useful for rockets, not common in civilian products that there’s no realistic hope of ever keeping away from North Korea.

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