North Korea rebuilding part of missile launch site it promised it would dismantle at first Trump-Kim summit in Singapore: reports
- Reports by Yonhap news agency and US think tanks indicate work is taking place at the Tongchang-ri launch site which Kim had promised Trump he would dismantle at the first summit in Singapore
Activity has been detected at a North Korean long-range rocket site, suggesting Pyongyang may be pursuing the “rapid rebuilding” of the facility after the collapse of the Hanoi summit, according to analysis of satellite imagery.
Last week’s meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and United States President Donald Trump ended abruptly after the pair failed to reach an agreement on walking back Pyongyang’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
The renewed activity was recorded two days after the summit and may “demonstrate resolve in the face of US rejection” of the North’s request for sanctions relief, said researchers at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
“Activity is evident at the vertical engine test stand and the launch pad’s rail-mounted rocket transfer structure,” the CSIS report said.
“Significantly, the environmental shelters on the umbilical tower, which are normally closed, have been opened to show the launch pad.
“This facility had been dormant since August 2018, indicating the current activity is deliberate and purposeful.”
Trump said after the unprecedented first summit with Kim on June 12 in Singapore that Kim had promised a major missile engine testing site would be destroyed.