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[webfact]

Images indicate North Korea dismantling test site facilities: report

By David Brunnstrom

 

FILE PHOTO - The flag of North Korea is seen in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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 U.S. President Donald Trump at a June summit, a Washington-based think tank said on Monday.

 

The July 20 images 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.

 

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North’s intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," it said in a report.

 

Trump told a news conference after his unprecedented June 12 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 U.S. official subsequently told Reuters that it was Sohae.

 

The 38 North report comes amid growing questions about North Korea's willingness to live up to the commitments Kim made at the summit, particularly to work towards denuclearisation.

 

U.S. officials have repeatedly said North Korea has committed to giving up a nuclear weapons programme that now threatens the United States, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this.

 

Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, which is based at Washington's Stimson Center, said the work at Sohae could be an important move to keep negotiations going.

 

"This could (and that’s a big could) mean that North Korea is also willing to forgo satellite launches for the time being as well as nuclear and missile tests. This distinction has derailed diplomacy in the past," she said.

 

On Friday, senior U.S. officials called on Kim to act on his promise to give up his nuclear weapons and said the world, including China and Russia, must continued to enforce sanctions on Pyongyang until he does so.

 

On Monday, the U.S. State Department issued an advisory together with the departments of Treasury and Homeland Security alerting businesses to North Korea's sanctions-evasion tactics.

 

It said they should "implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains."

 

In a tweet early on Monday, Trump rejected "Fake News" that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

 

"Wrong, very happy!" he said in the Tweet.

 

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," he said.

 

A report in The Washington Post at the weekend said that in spite of positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress.

 

Last week, Trump said there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations.

 

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday it was technically possible for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons programme within a year, but added that it was not likely to happen.

 

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-24

[jackh]

POTUS Trump = Leadership, promises kept, no more Mr. Nice Guy, MAGA.

My one small concern is DPRK "dismantling" as opposed to "destroying".

[Thailand]

Isn't this the site that was partially dismantled by an explosion?

[bluesofa]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Last week, Trump said there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations.

Is that because

a) he hasn't thought about one yet

or

b) he has, but once he strikes little rocket man's empire, it won't matter anyway

 

[Tug]

Strongly doubt it’s anything substantial trust but verify oh I forgot the very stable genius left that one out 

[mcambl61]

2 hours ago, Thailand said:

Isn't this the site that was partially dismantled by an explosion?

no, that was the underground facility for detonation testing

[mcambl61]

2 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Is that because

a) he hasn't thought about one yet

or

b) he has, but once he strikes little rocket man's empire, it won't matter anyway

 

i am sure you would do better

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Satellite images indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles

"dismantling" doesn't mean "destruction."

Is the dismantlement being done instead to relocate the facilities to a newer and larger project site?

Or simply that the current facility no longer is needed for development as North Korea enters full engine production?

[attrayant]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

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 U.S. President Donald Trump at a June summit

 

It was actually a promise made to the South Korean president.  All Kim said at the Trump meeting was "You know that committment I made with the South Korean President? Yeah, we're going do do that".  Had there been no Trump/Kim meeting at all, Kim would still be obligated to follow through on the denuclearlization promise it made with SK.

 

Trump is merely incidental.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2018 by attrayant
typo

[Srikcir]

21 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Or simply that the current facility no longer is needed for development as North Korea enters full engine production?

Now that seems to be the case.

The facility was needed for the development of liquid-fueled ICMB's. These rockets take hours to fuel and are very vulnerable to attack while sitting in the open on their launch pad. Kim has now developed and tested successfully solid-fueled ICBM's that can be launched on a moment's notice and not dedicated to a fixed launch facility.

Kim is removing an obsolete development site with clear intention to deceive the Trump regime. Trump so desperately wants to believe that the Kim-Trump summit proves to be a success in Kim's denuclearization.

[bristolboy]

But of course, this has nothing to do with denuclearization. And it's easy to see how Kim has Trump on the hook. Trump foolishly committed his prestige to the success of these negotiations by making it personal. So any positive step Kim takes, no matter how small, Trump is going to have to play it up as being of great significance. Kim can play Trump like this for years. Let's hope it's only 2 1/2  years more.