Spy images reveal new activity at North Korea ballistic missile site

United States spy agencies suspect North Korea is building new missiles in the same research facility that manufactured the country’s ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US.

Satellites have reportedly spotted continuing activity at a site in North Korea that has previously produced the missiles, casting doubt over the true impact of the summit between leader Kim Jongun and US president Donald Trump in Singapore.

The activity was leaked to the Washington Post.

Mr Jong-un pledged to work towards denuclearisation at the highly touted summit held with Mr Trump in June.

The reports emerged yesterday as rare general-level talks between the two Koreas ended with no agreement on easing their countries’ decades-long military stand-off.

Experts said it was still unclear whether the rivals could reach any breakthrough agreement on reducing tensions in the near future because South Korea, in close consultation with the US, must link any expansion of ties to progress in North Korea’s nuclear disarmament.

North Korea’s state media had earlier accused South Korea of being reluctant to take fully-fledged steps toward reconciliation because it was “reading another’s face”, in an apparent reference to the US.

Yesterday’s meeting at the Koreas’ shared border village of Panmunjom was the second such high-level military contact since the two countries’ leaders held a landmark summit in April and pledged to reduce the danger of another war on the peninsula.

The chief South Korean delegate, Major General Kim Do Gyun, said the Koreas had a common view in principle on disarming a jointly controlled area at Panmunjom, removing some guard posts from the demilitarised zone that bisects the countries, halting hostile acts along their disputed sea boundary and carrying out joint searches for soldiers missing from the 195053 Korean War. He said the Koreas would continue talks on details of the issues.

Mr Do Gyun escribed the talks as “sincere” and “candid”, saying he believed the two militaries could contribute to establishing a lasting peace between the countries. His North Korean counterpart, Leuitenant General An Ik San, said the talks were “productive” and that he also believed many pending military issues could be resolved.

Mr Jong-un has previously expressed his commitment to the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”.

There have been concerns North Korea has not taken any serious disarmament measures since the June summit.

North Korea has returned what were said to be dozens of remains of American soldiers missing from the Korean War.