A U. S. think tank says it has uncovered 13 of an estimated 20 North Korean missile operating bases inside the country — including those believed to house b
A U. S. think tank says it has uncovered 13 of an estimated 20 North Korean missile operating bases inside the country — including those believed to house ballistic missiles capable of striking anywhere in Japan and the U. S. — highlighting the difficult road ahead for ridding Pyongyang of its nuclear and missile arsenals.
The report, released Monday by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said maintenance and minor infrastructure improvements have been observed at some of the sites, despite ongoing negotiations with the United States over the country’s denuclearization.
The sites identified were described as “small, dispersed throughout the nation, and, with few exceptions, located in narrow mountain valleys.”
The missiles housed at the sites are likely to include medium-range Scud-ERs and Rodongs, which test-firings have shown are capable of striking key targets in Japan. At least one of the bases uncovered is also believed capable of housing newer, longer-range weapons such as the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile, which was tested last year.
The report, however, noted that the missile operating bases “are not launch facilities” themselves.
“While missiles could be launched from within them in an emergency, Korean People’s Army (KPA) operational procedures call for missile launchers to disperse from the bases to pre-surveyed or semi-prepared launch sites for operations,” the report said.
None of the sites have been acknowledged by Pyongyang, though observers say a disclosure of both the size of the country’s nuclear arsenal and its missile capabilities would be a key ingredient in any denuclearization deal. The North has reportedly said that revealing such information would be tantamount to submitting a list of targets the U. S. could attack.
At a landmark June summit in Singapore, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to a 1½-page joint statement to “work towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” while U.
