North Korea Seen Reassembling Rocket Test Site

Satellite imagery suggests North Korea may be taking steps to reactivate a partially decommissioned long-range rocket test site on the west coast of the country.

News of the apparent activity comes less than a week after a second summit between the U.S. and North Korea ended in stalemate.

North Korea wanted sanctions relief in exchange for the dismantlement of a major nuclear weapons research site at Yongbyon. The U.S., meanwhile, insisted that the North must surrender its entire nuclear program in exchange for economic benefits.

The Sohae facility, also referred to as Dongchang-ri and Tongchang-ri, is the site from which North Korea attempted satellite launches in 2012 and 2016. It’s also the location of a test stand Pyongyang has used to fire some of its rocket engines on the ground.

More recently, Sohae figured prominently in the ongoing talks between North Korea and the U.S. Last June, after the first U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore, President Trump said Kim had given his word he would close “a major missile engine testing site”.

North Korea appears to have rebuilt an engine test stand in a matter of days.

Full Story @ NPR

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