It does seem to make sense you want the alternative airfield built before closing Gwangju Airbase, but with the current timeline for closure being 2028 I don’t see how a new base could be built in time:

“Airpower is what North Korea fears most and Gwangju is a base the U.S. military actively uses. It is concerning that the plan is moving ahead on schedule without a clear alternative prepared,” Yang said.

He questioned the timing, suggesting the decision appeared aimed at shoring up political support in the region rather than addressing a defense need. “With Korea-U.S. alliance issues piling up, designating Gwangju specifically suggests the goal is political — holding onto support in that region,” Yang said, adding that pursuing the plan for political reasons is not inherently wrong, but that it becomes a problem when it interferes with matters of security importance.

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, noted the base holds significance beyond the immediate peninsula context.

“Sites like the Gwangju base feature hardened aircraft shelters designed to protect fighter jets from preemptive strikes, preserving combat power for counterattacks in a potential U.S.–China conflict. The same logic applies to deterring North Korea, where overwhelming airpower is essential … Joint bilateral consultations are essential to determine the strategic risks,” Park said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This seems like common sense to let people know you plan to launch projectile into airspace, but as we have seen recently certain countries could care less:

South Korea, the United States, Japan and 37 other countries issued a joint statement Tuesday calling on countries to provide sufficient advance notification of launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and space launch vehicles (SLVs).

The statement came after China carried out a surprise launch of an SLBM into the open waters of the Pacific on July 6, drawing criticism from the U.S. and other countries. The countries did not mention China by name in the statement.

In the statement, the countries called on all nations, particularly nuclear-weapon states, to provide notification of ICBM, SLBM and SLV launches no less than 24 hours in advance, noting that nuclear-capable missile tests without sufficient advance notice are “dangerous” and disrupt the peace of nations close to these tests.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Just think these are just two spies they caught, there are likely many more that have not been detected yet:

Two former Chinese military officers have been arrested for allegedly eavesdropping on communications from fighter jets near a South Korean military base and leaking classified material related to South Korea-U.S. military exercises, police said Tuesday.

One of the suspects, a Chinese national in his 60s, was arrested on suspicions of benefiting the enemy and violating a law on the protection of communications secrets after allegedly making multiple visits to South Korea on a tourist visa and tapping communications between fighter jets and air traffic control towers from a hotel near an airport in the southwestern city of Gunsan, according to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police. (……….)

Meanwhile, the second suspect, a 45-year-old ethnic Korean with Chinese nationality, was arrested on suspicions of benefiting the enemy and violating a law on the protection of military bases after allegedly recruiting a South Korean woman working at Camp Humphreys, a key U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul, to obtain classified material related to allied exercises.

The man allegedly concealed his identity while running a U.S. military supplies store near the base and engaged in the acts from November 2021 until last May as a retired PLA officer.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this shows that even the friendly Korean guy in the Ville may actually be a Chinese intelligence agent.

My assumption would be is that there is some new tech that North Korea must be trying out on these recent launches. The more capable missiles they can manufacture would likely mean more money from the Russians:

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, marking the second such launch in less than a week in an apparent protest against an upcoming combined military exercise between the South and the United States. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missile launched from the Wonsan area on the east coast at around 6 a.m. 

The missile flew more than 700 kilometers, with a detailed analysis on its specifications under way by South Korean and U.S. authorities, according to the JCS.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.