Trump says reports on NK missile sites ‘nothing new’

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States was aware of undeclared North Korean missile bases revealed by US researchers but insisted all was fine.

“We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new – and nothing happening out of the normal,” Trump, who is seeking a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, wrote on Twitter.

“I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!” he said.

Researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a prominent Washington think tank, on Tuesday said that satellite imagery had found 13 missile bases undeclared by North Korea.

The bases can be used to hide mobile, nuclear-capable missiles, the study said, warning that North Korea could preserve the sites – and the ability to attack – even as it negotiates with Trump on a potentially landmark accord.

Trump described a report on the findings by The New York Times as “inaccurate” and “fake news.”

South Korea also earlier played down the study, saying that the sites had been known for years.

Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for South Korea’s dovish president, Moon Jae-in, disputed that North Korea was being deceptive as Pyongyang had never promised to get rid of shortrange missiles.

The CSIS report said that the bases were scattered around North Korea and at times in narrow mountain valleys, meaning they could be quickly moved to launch strikes.