Now after months of thawing relations US Intelligence officials have revealed that North Korea has constructed two new buildings at a facility
WASHINGTON, U. S. — For the U. S. President Donald Trump, who desperately chased a crucial victory on the world stage last month, the optics of his historic summit with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un in Singapore mattered more.
This was evident as Trump, who had repeatedly clarified in the run up to the summit, that he would demand seek a “complete, verifiable, irreversible” commitment from North Korea to denuclearize — eventually signed a documents with Kim Jong Un, listing a handful of things that both the leaders had agreed to.
Experts have since them criticized the document signed by the two leaders for its vague wording and non-biding nature.
Yet, it seemed largely like tables had suddenly turned at the end of the Singapore summit.
The U. S., that is usually tactical in dealing with public declarations about high impact global conflicts an resolutions, saw Trump declaring the very next day that “Everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.”
In contrast, for years, North Korea has been seen as a rogue nation that has advanced its nuclear weapons program in defiance of United Nations rules and in the face of growing international anger.
Further, the reclusive country has frequently tested missiles, spooking neighbors and often turning aggressive and hostile when questioned.
However, despite vowing to denuclearize in last month’s summit, there has been no change in North Korea’s policy.
What has changed, is its approach that has gone from being ‘belligerent and menacing’ to ‘calculated and discrete.’
Two weeks after the summit, Washington-based North Korea monitoring group, 38North released commercial satellite images take ten days after the historic between Trump and Kim Jong Un.
The satellite images reportedly revealed North Korea’s effort to rapidly upgrade its main nuclear research facility, the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre.
8North pointed out that the satellite imagery shows several new buildings, including an engineering office and a driveway to a building which houses a nuclear reactor.
Further, the images showed that there were modifications to the centre’s plutonium production reactor’s cooling system.
A week later, an even more shocking report emerged, quoting an U. S. intelligence findings revealed that there was “unequivocal evidence” of North Korea’s efforts to ramp up its enriched uranium production — offering proof of North Korea’s deception — something experts have been warning the U. S. administration about.
The report, quoting those with knowledge of U. S. Intelligence findings revealed that the rogue nation has increased its production of enriched uranium for nuclear weapons at secret sites in the last few months.
An intelligence source reportedly stated, «Work is ongoing to deceive us on the number of facilities, the number of weapons, the number of missiles. We are watching closely.»
In the aftermath of the revelations, U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who returned from his meeting with top North Korean officials, touted the “progress on almost all of the central issue,” at the end of the trip.
However, North Korea issued a statement that came in stark contradiction to what Pompeo said.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry accused American “working-level” officials of trying to destroy the agreement struck in Singapore and said in a statement, “The U. S. attitude and positions at the high-level talks and demands from the U. S. side during the high-level talks were nothing short of deeply regrettable.”
North Korea accused the U. S. of making unilateral demands for denuclearization and claimed that America betrayed the spirit of last month’s summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un.
The ministry said that the outcome of the talks was «very concerning» because it has led to a «dangerous phase that might rattle our willingness for denuclearization that had been firm.”
Recently, North Korea was seen to have made efforts to dismantle facilities at its main satellite launch site — with 38 North saying that satellite images show some facilities at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station being dismantled.
The station was used to develop engines for ballistic missiles and key facilities, including a rocket engine test stand that is used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles was seen to have been dismantled.
North Korea also dismantled a rail-mounted processing building where space launch vehicles were assembled before.
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles — a decade long quest
In August last year, Kim Jong Un oversaw his second test of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), immediately issuing his usual bellicose threats of nuclear war, warning Trump directly, that the ICBM it had successfully tested, could bring much of the U. S. mainland within reach.
Now, after months of thawing relations, U. S. Intelligence officials have revealed that North Korea has constructed two new buildings at a missile facility in the northern suburbs of Pyongyang.
The report cited satellite imagery captured on Sunday by San Francisco-based imagery provider Planet Labs Inc. and analyzed by experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California.
It pointed out that North Korea appears to be actively continuing production there.
Further, the obtained evidence reportedly included recent satellite photos, indicating that efforts are underway on at least one, and maybe two, liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles at a facility on the edges of Pyongyang.
So far, neither the White House, nor Trump have commented on the Intelligence findings.
