A U.S. military expert says that North Korea is likely to complete the construction of a new hovercraft base near the northern limit line in the Yellow Sea next year.
 
Joseph Bermudez, an analyst on North Korean defense, presented the assessment in his contribution to the Center for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS) on Monday.

Bermudez said that the new base under construction is located at Yonbong-ni, 135 kilometers southwest of Pyongyang, which is the northern side of the northern limit line in the Yellow Sea.

The analyst said that the Yonbong-ni base can shelter a total of 54 hovercraft units.

He added that if North Korea redeploys its existing hovercraft units to the Yonbong-ni base, it would represent the furthest forward deployment of any hovercraft unit to date. He said that would constitute a significant escalation of threats to South Korea's border islands in the West Sea and ports along the coast.