Total Manpower Strength 46,000

PICTURES

STATUS

Development officially began in 1988, though work undoubtedly commenced earlier in the 1980s. Design objectives focused on: the creation of a missile capable of delivering a 2,205-3,307 lb (1,000-1,500 kg) warhead to a range of 540-810 nm (621-932 mi, 1,000-1,500 km); the establishment of a basic s ystem for future development of MRBMs and ICBMs; and the creation of a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

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  May 1990 - U.S. intelligence observed the first prototype No Dong on a launch pad at Musudan-ri, North Korea. No missile launch was detected. Later, satellite photographs showed what appeared to be large scorch marks, possibly indicating a catastrophic test failure.
  
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  June 1992 - More test activity was detected at Musudan-ri, but no flight test occurred. Japanese military sources indicate a second launch cancellation or failure.
  
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  April 1993 - U.S. intelligence detected test activity at Musudan-ri.
  
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  May 29-30, 1993 - First test flight of a No Dong missile as part of a four-missile launch operation. The other three missiles were Hwasong-5 and/or Hwasong-6 SRBMs. The No Dong flew 270 nm (311 mi, 500 km) to a target buoy in the Yellow Sea. Iranian and Pakistani observers were present for the tests.
  
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  April 1994 - U.S. intelligence detected preparations for a test at Musudan-ri. Activity ceased for unknown reasons, but may have been due to North Korean negotiations with the U.S. underway in Geneva.
  
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  Oct. 1996 - Another planned flight test by North Korea was cancelled.
  
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  April 6, 1998 - Pakistan tested its first Ghauri 1 missile, later identified as a North Korean-produced No Dong. Pakistan claimed the missile had a range of 810 nm (932 mi, 1,500 km). North Korean observers may have been present for the test.
  
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  July 22, 1998 - Iran conducted a first test of the Shahab-3, which was later identified as a No Dong. The missile exploded about 100 seconds into the flight.
  
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  April 14, 1999 - Pakistan tested a Ghauri 2 missile with a claimed range of 1,080 nm (1,243 mi, 2,000 km). The missile was again identified as a North Korean No Dong.
  
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  July 4, 2006 - North Korea launched at least one No Dong missile during a barrage of testing that saw Pyongyang fire seven missiles, the first of which took off minutes after the Discovery space shuttle lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla. All the missiles, which included a long-range Taepo Don g-2, landed in the Sea of Japan. The six medium-range missiles -- a combination of Scud and No Dong missiles -- were fired from Anbyon in Kangwon province.
  

Iran has approximately 20 Shahab-3s.

U.S. inspection teams stationed in Iraq reported in 2003 that the country had been in unsuccessful negotiations with North Korea between 1999 and 2002 to purchase No Dong missiles and/or technology.

There have been unverified reports that Egypt not only ordered No Dong missile assemblies and components to produce 50 missiles, but also conducted test flights in 2002.

The estimated number of No Dongs in the North Korean inventory in 2006 generally ranged between 100 and 200 missiles. However, according to GlobalSecurity.org, the South Korean National Intelligence Service estimated in 2006 that North Korea had either deployed or produced at least 450 No Dongs.

Some experts have reported that Syria has acquired the No-Dong medium-range ballistic missile from North Korea. Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Libya are all reported to have approached North Korea to procure the missile, however, there is no reported confirmation of exports, according to Jane's Strateg ic Weapons Systems, dated January 2009.