Thread: North Korea 'dismantling missile site' in first steps since Trump-Kim summit, satelli

North Korea 'dismantling missile site' in first steps since Trump-Kim summit, satellite images suggest

'These efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea'

Satellite image by Airbus Defense and Space and 38 North, showing the apparent dismantling of facilities at the Sohae satellite launching station, North Korea ( AFP/Getty )

North Korea appears to have begun dismantling a site used to develop components for ballistic missiles, in what would be an important first step towards fulfilling the agreement made at a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in June.

Satellite images published by a leading think-tank on North Korea show activity at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, located among dense forest and hills close the northern border with China.

Workers are believed to be dismantling a building used to assemble space-launch vehicles and a nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles, the 38 North think-tank said.

North Korea's weapons programme was high on the agenda at a summit between Mr Trump and Mr Kim in Singapore last month. The US president later said his counterpart had promised to destroy a major missile engine testing site "very soon".

Mr Trump did not identify the site, but a US official subsequently told the Reuters news agency that it was Sohae.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North’s intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," 38 North said in a report.

The apparent progress comes amid concerns over whether North Korea would follow through with the commitments made in Singapore. The White House reportedly admitted that a subsequent trip made by Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang went "as bad as it could have".

US officials have repeatedly said North Korea has committed to giving up a nuclear weapons programme that now threatens the US, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this.

Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, which is based at Washington's Stimson Centre, said the work at Sohae could be an important move to keep negotiations going.

"This could (and that’s a big could) mean that North Korea is also willing to forgo satellite launches for the time being as well as nuclear and missile tests. This distinction has derailed diplomacy in the past," she said.

On Friday, senior US officials called on Mr Kim to act on his promise to give up his nuclear weapons and said the world, including China and Russia, must continue to enforce sanctions on Pyongyang until he does so.

And on Monday, the US State Department issued an advisory together with the departments of Treasury and Homeland Security alerting businesses to North Korea's sanctions-evasion tactics.

It said they should "implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains."

In a tweet early on Monday, Mr Trump rejected "Fake News" that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

"Wrong, very happy!" he said in the Tweet.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," he said.

A report in The Washington Post at the weekend said that in spite of positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress.

Last week, Mr Trump said there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations.

US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday it was technically possible for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons program within a year, but added that it was not likely to happen.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a8460866.html

Good! I hope things continue to roll along as swiftly as possible. This will be such a dramatic improvement to our national security if it does and such a great thing for the people of North and South Korea, Japan and the world.

Good job, Mr. President.

Satellite images show North Korea has begun dismantling key test site

By Zachary Cohen, CNN
Updated 1:35 AM ET, Tue July 24, 2018

Washington (CNN)New images published Monday by the prominent monitoring group 38 North indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station -- a move analysts say represents "an important first step towards fulfilling a commitment" made by Kim Jong Un during his summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore.
An analysis of the commercial satellite imagery captured between July 20 and July 22 shows that North Korea has started disassembling parts of its main satellite launch station -- a site that is believed to have played an important role in the development of Pyongyang's intercontinental ballistic missile program.
US intel agency believes Kim won't fully denuclearize
US intel agency believes Kim won't fully denuclearize
"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," according to 38 North's Joseph Bermudez Jr.

"Most notably, these include the rail-mounted processing building -- where space launch vehicles are assembled before moving them to the launchpad -- and the nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles."

Both Trump and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, have been urging patience since the President held a historic summit with Kim in Singapore last month but the President has privately expressed frustration over the perceived lack of progress in talks, a US official told CNN.

Trump pushed back against that suggestion Monday, tweeting that he is "very happy" with the progress with North Korea, noting a lack of rocket launches and nuclear tests in recent months.

Adam Mount, a senior fellow and director at the Federation of American Scientists, agreed that these steps "are encouraging and helpful for extending talks" but noted they "are not themselves a major material step toward disarmament or militarily significant restrictions."

"This is consistent with North Korea's public line, which is that its successful test program is now transitioning to mass production of nuclear and missile systems," he said.

"Dismantling test infrastructure, especially for space launch vehicles, does not change this calculation. It's also troubling that North Korea has apparently been allowed to dodge verification at both Punggye-ri and Sohae. That will have to be fixed for subsequent agreements," Mount added.

And while Monday's images may amount to a "confidence building measure" by the North Koreans, it appears that they expect the US to reciprocate if talks are to continue.

CNN reported on Monday that continued negotiations between the two sides hinge on Washington's willingness to make a "bold move" and agree to a peace treaty with Pyongyang, according to an official with close knowledge of North Korea's position on the matter.

If the US is unwilling to replace the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War with a permanent peace that would ensure the survival of Kim's regime, Pyongyang will likely not proceed further with denuclearization talks, the source said.
Meanwhile, US Democrats in Congress remain largely in the dark on the administration's plans with regards to a path forward with North Korea and skepticism over Kim's intentions.

Ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez told CNN on Monday he hopes Pompeo can provide answers when he testifies on Capitol Hill this week.

"We all want diplomacy to succeed, so I am interested to hear more from Secretary Pompeo this Wednesday on his views on this development -- and if he considers this to be significant," the New Jersey Democrat said in reference to the images published Monday.

"The fact of the matter is that last year, on President Trump's watch, North Korea made significant advances in its ballistic missile technology, achieving what many experts agree is a nuclear-capable operational ICBM," Menendez added.

"I want to hear from the secretary how and if this action by North Korea is integrated into a cogent and coherent diplomatic framework that gets us to complete and verifiable dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs," he told CNN.

CNN's Kevin Liptak and Will Ripley contributed to this report.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/23/polit...hae/index.html

"The fact of the matter is that last year, on President Trump's watch, North Korea made significant advances in its ballistic missile technology, achieving what many experts agree is a nuclear-capable operational ICBM," Menendez added.

Thank the Good Lord Above it happened during President Trump's watch, because he knew what to do in response. Can you imagine what would have happened under someone else's "watch"? Answer: Full acceptance of North Korea as a nuclear power. Ugh!!

Thank you President Trump, for taking US from the precipice of nuclear war with North Korea to peace with complete denuclearization. Lots still to do, but much progress so far with much more coming. Keep up the good work!