The North Korean navy's specialized hovercraft units could pose a greater threat to the region as they are modernized, he said in a piece to Beyond Parallel, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"If North Korea does redeploy the existing hovercraft units at Kibong-dong and Tasa-ri to the Yonbong-ni hovercraft base it would represent the furthest forward deployment of any KPN (Korean People's Navy) hovercraft unit to date," Bermudez wrote.

"This would also constitute a significant escalation of the navy sniper brigade threat to the ROK islands in the West Sea and ports along the coast; and potentially a political calculation that the ROK is too weak to counter such a move," he added, referring to South Korea by the acronym for its official name, the Republic of Korea.

As of December, the hovercraft shelters at Yonbong-ni could shelter 54 hovercrafts, which is two more than at the main base in Sasulpo.

"If construction continues at its present pace it is likely that the reinforced concrete roofs for the shelters will be poured starting in 2018 and that a majority of the headquarters, administration, housing and support compounds will be completed during 2019," according to Bermudez. (Yonhap)