North Korea Said to Be Dismantling Nuclear Site

By NY Daily News. North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June.

While Pyongyang could be trying to build trust with Washington as they engage in talks to resolve the nuclear standoff, analysts say dismantling a few facilities at the site alone wouldn’t realistically reduce North Korea’s military capability or represent a material step toward denuclearization. And they expressed concern the work is being done without verification.

North Korea-focused 38 North website said commercial satellite images between July 20 and 22 indicate the North began dismantling key facilities at the Sohae launch site. The facilities being razed or disassembled include a rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles and a rail-mounted processing building where space launch vehicles were assembled before being moved to the launch pad, according to the report. . .

An official from South Korea’s presidential office on Tuesday said Seoul has also been detecting dismantlement activities at the Sohae launch site but did not specify what the North was supposedly taking apart. (Read more from “North Korea Said to Be Dismantling Nuclear Site” HERE)

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North Korea: Satellite Images Show Dismantling of Missile Test Facilities

By The Guardian. Satellite images indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, in a first step toward fulfilling a pledge made to US President Donald Trump at a June summit, reports a Washington-based think tank.

The images from 20 July showed work at the Sohae satellite launching station to dismantle 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. . .

Trump told a news conference after his 12 June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that Kim had promised that a major missile engine testing site would be destroyed very soon.

Trump did not identify the site, but a US official subsequently told Reuters that it was Sohae. (Read more from “North Korea: Satellite Images Show Dismantling of Missile Test Facilities” HERE)

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