North Korea may have stopped dismantling missile test site
(Baonghean.vn) - According to a report based on recent satellite images, the US website 38 North (38 degrees North) said on August 22 that North Korea appears to have stopped destroying a missile engine testing site in the Northwestern region of the country.
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| Sohae test site in North Korea. Photo: AP |
According to 38 North, a group that monitors North Korea, satellite images taken on August 16 showed "no significant demolition activity" since August 3 at the rocket engine test site and launch pad of the Sohae satellite launch station in Tongchang-ri, near the northern border between North Korea and China.
The report stressed that Pyongyang is reluctant to abandon its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs, despite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's commitment to "complete" denuclearization during a historic summit with US President Donald Trump in June in Singapore.
38 North noted significant progress in dismantling the test launch pad from July to early August, but "dismantled components remain piled on the ground."
Earlier, speaking at a press conference after the US-North Korea summit in Singapore, President Trump said that the North Korean leader pledged that Pyongyang would soon destroy a major missile engine testing site, apparently referring to the Sohae test site.
The Sohae test site is used to test liquid-fuel rocket engines, which are installed in both intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US and rockets used to launch spacecraft into space./.