According to a report by Voice of America (VOA), North Korea has dismantled import quarantine facilities at Uiju Airport near the Chinese border in three years.
On the same day, VOA analyzed satellite images provided by the private U.S. company Planet Labs taken the day before and reported that “the large warehouse buildings and surrounding auxiliary structures that were built around the runway at Uiju Airport have been torn down.”
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea established facilities at the Uiju Airport runway, which had been used for military purposes, to
disinfect and quarantine imports from China.
The site featured ten warehouses, each measuring 90 meters, along with over 20 auxiliary buildings. Earlier satellite images occasionally showed cargo, believed to be from China, covered with blue and white tarps while stationed on the runway.
However, the latest satellite images from Wednesday showed that the warehouse buildings and all remaining structures have vanished, leaving the airport nearly vacant once again.
Only three auxiliary buildings, each measuring 48 meters, and one smaller building measuring 17 meters, remain at the site. VOA estimates that these structures will likely be dismantled soon as well.
In January, North Korea demolished several buildings at the site and replaced them with similarly sized structures two months later following damage from heavy snowfall.
However, VOA’s analysis suggests that this situation differs from previous instances. It appears unlikely that North Korea will continue using Uiju Airport as a quarantine facility.
Uiju Airport has been an active North Korean Air Force airfield since the Korean War. It has been observed housing 20 to 30 IL-28 tactical bombers and six fighter jets, raising questions about whether North Korea might repurpose It for military purposes.