--- title: "North Korea accidentally burned a photographer alive during a missile test" date: "2020-04-29" modified: "2020-10-30" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/north-korea-accidentally-burned-photographer/" categories: - "Military News" tags: - "North Korea" --- # North Korea accidentally burned a photographer alive during a missile test ![]() There's a saying in the photography community, first coined by the legendary Robert Capa: "if your photos aren't good enough, you're not close enough." If that's true, there's one North Korean photog who has the world's best photo of a rocket launch. Sadly, no one will ever see it because the photo was burned up along with the man who took it. --- The worst part is, the Korean Central News Agency distributed video of his gruesome death for all the world to see. ![]() Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow No one loves testing missiles and telling the world about it more than North Korea, so it's likely the photographer was put there on purpose. Whether or not anyone (especially the photographer) knew he was in the blast zone for the Hwasong-15 rocket is anyone's guess. "The photographer who stood near Hwasong-15 missile was enveloped by fire," said one onlooker to the incident. "I was shocked to see officials watching the launch. I did not know whether it was the fault of the cameraman or the control center. But it was impossible for leader Kim Jong-un who was at the site not to have witnessed the incident." ![]() Kim Jong-un and the Korean People's Army rejoice at the launch of a Hwasong-15 missile test. As North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and his cronies watched North Korea's largest, most powerful Intercontinental ballistic missile test to date – and cheered on – it's possible that [up to 16 people]() who were in the test area were burned alive by the missile's blast. South Korea says the KCNA broadcasts were later edited to remove the toasted photographer. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()