Less Than a Month After Summit, Satellite Images Show North Korea Is Expanding Nuclear Facilities
Photo by Handout/Getty
North Korea is reportedly expanding a key nuclear missile manufacturing facility, less than a month after Kim Jong Un’s summit with Trump, where he agreed to move toward denuclearization.
Satellite images showing the nuclear facility expansion come as no surprise after Trump and Kim’s agreement was widely criticized for being vague. However, it was a surprise to Trump, who strutted back into the U.S. after the summit bragging.
Just landed – a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018
The satellite images were obtained from San Francisco-based Planet Labs Inc. and analyzed by researchers at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. The images of the nuclear facility reveal that North Korea is in no way working toward denuclearization but rather, working quickly to expand their nuclear powers. The facility is used to build solid-fuel ballistic missiles that can be launched quickly. These missiles are much less vulnerable than liquid-fuel rockets when it comes to preemptive strikes. Former CIA analyst and North Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation Bruce Klingner told NBC:
The observed activity appears inconsistent with a North Korean intent to abandon its nuclear weapons programs. There seems little reason to continue expansion plans if the regime intended to dismantle them as would be required under a denuclearization agreement.