Activity at North Korean rocket facility revealed

Satellite images suggest that North Korea could be preparing to launch a missile or space rocket in the near future, American analysts have said, signaling a potential blow to Washingtonpyongyang relations.

The commercial images, taken on 22 February by imaging company Digitalglobe, revealed an uptick in activity at a facility in Sanumdong, a Pyongyang suburb, CNN reported on Saturday. North Korea has previously assembled some of its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and satellitelaunching rockets at Sanumdong.

The release of the images follows an assessment by respected North Korea monitoring website 38 North that the Sohae satellite launch facility, which had been partially disassembled as part of disarmament steps, is now back to normal operational status after a flurry of restoration work in recent weeks.

“We’re seeing a lot of vehicle activity at the Sanumdong facility and also at the rail transfer point where it would be loaded and taken to Sohae,” Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, who has studied the new images, told CNN on Friday. “I think the evidence points to a satellite launch, and not just the evidence at Sanumdong, but also the evidence from Sohae.” Satellite launches use similar technology as ballistic missiles, and experts have long maintained that North Korea’s attempts to shoot satellites into space could help them develop viable long-range ballistic missiles.

Lewis warned that it was impossible to know whether the North Koreans were preparing a military missile or a space rocket.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would be disappointed if Pyongyang were to resume weapons testing and reiterated his belief in his good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un despite the collapse last week of their second summit.

“I would be surprised in a negative way if he did anything that was not per our understanding. But we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I would be very disappointed if I saw testing.