New project enables revised estimate of vehicles per capita in North Korea
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) is excited to announce the release of its first project on the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Tearline open source intelligence platform, a pioneering analysis focused on small passenger vehicles in Hamhung, North Korea.
The CEAS Tearline project provides a detailed analysis of small passenger vehicles (SPVs) in Hamhung, North Korea’s second-largest city. By examining public and commercial satellite imagery and other open source intelligence (OSINT) sources, the project sheds light on the growth and distribution of small passenger vehicles in the city as an indicator of economic activity and development, and enables a revised estimate for the number of such vehicles in North Korea. The team used both computer vision (CV) techniques and manual counting to validate the results. UW–Madison’s Center for High Throughput Computing (CHTC) was used to train the CV model.
This project was conducted by students led by David Fields, CEAS associate director and scholar of US-Korean relations. It represents a significant advancement in the application of open source intelligence to provide valuable insights into one of the world’s most opaque regions.
“I am incredibly proud of our student team who saw this project through to completion,” said Fields. “This type of research was new to all of us and required that we learn entirely new methodologies, tools, and vocabularies. It was also a lot of fun.”
Open source intelligence (OSINT) involves gathering and analyzing information from publicly and commercially accessible sources. These sources include media reports, academic publications, online content, and satellite imagery. OSINT is a critical tool in modern intelligence, providing a broad array of data that helps policymakers and analysts understand and anticipate global developments. “Tearline” is a reference to a literal tear line on intelligence reports which segregates classified information from information that has been released to other parties.
“I genuinely enjoyed the process of learning and completing research of this type. It was exciting to combine many of our skills and expertise to complete this paper,” said Vincent Watring, a recent graduate in microbiology and history, and one of the students who worked on the project. “I look forward to working with everyone again as we continue to apply our methods to larger projects.”
“I learned so much in such a short time frame by working hands-on with different computer vision models,” said Ryan Thenhaus, who graduated in 2024 with degrees in Computer Sciences and Economics. “I’d like to thank University of Wisconsin–Madison’s CHTC for providing integral computer resources and Dr. Fields for the deep knowledge of North Korea and the leadership he provided. I hope to work with this exceptional team in the future to continue our analysis.” Thenhaus now works as a software engineer for the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS), where he was a RISC intern while at UW–Madison.
The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is dedicated to promoting knowledge and understanding of East Asia through education, research, and outreach. CEAS serves as a resource for students, scholars, and the public, offering insights into the rich cultures, histories, and contemporary issues of East Asian countries. The NGA Tearline collaboration exemplifies CEAS’s commitment to applying scholarly expertise to address global challenges.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is part of the United States Intelligence Community (IC), specializing in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) for national security purposes. The Tearline initiative, sponsored by NGA, produces unclassified, public-facing intelligence reports that combine expert analysis with open-source data to enhance transparency and public understanding. These reports combine the rigor of intelligence reporting with the interactivity of a modern internet-based platform with a web presence and mobile apps. Tearline has received awards for transparency in the IC, as well as the inaugural OSINT Product of the Year award from the OSINT Foundation.
“Space is hard,” said Chris Rasmussen, project lead for Tearline at NGA. He continued, “Like many projects I’ve worked on in the open GEONT and OSINT space, the machine learning, computer vision or AI hopes are initially very high then tamper down a bit as the project gets going. Manual car counting got this done in the end. The human is still the center of this type of labor-intensive analysis for now.”
“This project demonstrates the expertise and creativity our students bring to answering urgent national security questions in innovative ways,” said Dave Schroeder, national security research strategist for the College of Letters & Science Collective for Research Impact and Social Partnerships (CRISP) and research director for the Wisconsin Security Research Consortium (WSRC). Schroeder established the relationship with NGA and the Tearline program. “We look forward to continuing to connect UW–Madison capabilities with partners in the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community to address global challenges.”
The release of this Tearline project highlights the innovative potential of combining academic rigor with intelligence analysis. CEAS and NGA are committed to continuing their collaboration to produce insightful and accessible intelligence reports that benefit both policymakers and the general public, while supporting student research.
Read the inaugural UW–Madison Tearline report: North Korea: Passenger Vehicles Increasing on the Streets of Hamhung
About the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS)
The Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is a leading institution dedicated to the study and understanding of East Asia. Through interdisciplinary research, educational programs, and public outreach, CEAS fosters a deeper appreciation of East Asian cultures, histories, and contemporary issues.
About the University of Wisconsin–Madison
As a public land-grant university and major research institution with over $1.5 billion in annual R&D, the University of Wisconsin–Madison engages in world-class education while solving real-world problems. With public service — or as we call it, the Wisconsin Idea — as our guiding principle, Badgers are creating a better future for everyone.
About the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is one of the 18 members of the United States Intelligence Community (IC). NGA is a unique combination of intelligence agency and DOD combat support agency. It provides timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national security objectives.