WASHINGTON, July 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US intelligence agencies have found
that North Korea is building new missiles, based on satellite photographs
taken in recent weeks and other new evidence, The Washington Post reported
Monday.
Just weeks after a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang appears to be developing at least
one or two liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Post said,
citing officials familiar with the intelligence.
The factory outside Pyongyang in Sanumdong where the work is underway
produced the North’s first ICBMs capable of reaching the United States.
Following the Singapore summit in June, Trump had declared that Pyongyang
was “no longer a Nuclear Threat,” and touted his own diplomatic achievements.
But Kim did not publicly promise to end work at the country’s nuclear and
missile facilities, instead speaking of eventual denuclearization.
The reported new missile construction follows Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo’s testimony last week in which he told senators Pyongyang continues to
make nuclear fissile material, without indicating whether the hermit state
was building new missiles.
Imagery from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency suggests ongoing
work on at least one Hwasong-15 ICBM at the Sanumdong plant, the Post said.
“We see them going to work, just as before,” a US official told the
newspaper.
But at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on North Korea’s west coast,
workers can be seen dismantling an engine test stand, in line with a promise
made to Trump at the summit, though the move is seen as more symbolic since
the facility can easily be rebuilt.
An image taken on July 7 shows a bright-red covered trailer in a loading
area that appears to be identical to those vehicles the North has previously
used to transport ICBMs.