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SEOUL, Korea, Republic of – North Korea appears to have begun dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in order to meet Kim Jong Un's commitment at its summit with the United States. President Donald Trump in June. While Pyongyang may try to establish a relationship of trust with Washington to solve the nuclear problem, analysts believe that the dismantling of some facilities on the site would not reduce the military capacity of North Korea or would not constitute a not important towards denuclearization. They expressed their concern that the work should be done without verification.
According to North Korea's 38 North site, commercial satellite imagery between July 20 and July 22 indicates that the North has begun to dismantle key facilities at the Sohae launch site. The shaved or disassembled facilities include a rocket engine test bench used to develop liquid fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launchers and a rail-mounted processing building where space launchers were assembled prior to launch. be moved to the launching pad. As these facilities would have played an important role in the development of technologies for the Northern intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant measure of confidence on the part of North Korea, "said Joseph Bermudez, an analyst. South Korea's presidency said on Tuesday that Seoul also detected decommissioning activities at the Sohae launch site, but did not say what the North was supposed to dismantle.
Other analysts have said that North Korea is abandoning little in the dismantling of the rocket engine test site when it is clear that the country is satisfied with its curr More Adam Mount, a senior defense analyst at the Federation US scientists, said that it is also disturbing that the North has apparently been allowed to sneak into the future. usually parts of its nuclear facilities and missiles without the presence of international inspectors. North Korea invited foreign journalists in May to observe the destruction of tunnels on its nuclear test site, but did not invite outside experts to certify what had been destroyed.
"Sohae's actions are a useful signal negotiations, but do not advance nuclear disarmament per se," Mount said in an email. "North Korea has still not disclosed or proposed to dismantle facilities that produce or store nuclear or missile systems, or the means to transport missiles. "Until now, dismantled facilities were peripheral to these essential functions."
Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert from the Institute of Science and Technology Policy of South Korea, said the North's decision to dismantle the rail-mounted processing building was the most significant development as it potentially indicated more dismantling activities wide on the site. go further and dismantle the entire Sohae site, which would significantly reduce the country's long-range missile capability by eliminating one facility where it could successively trigger multiple ICBMs, "Lee said. "The North can also fire ICBM missiles from carrier launchers, but their technology with these vehicles is not stable."
However, Mount said the military consequences of a broader dismantling would be "marginal". North Korea has made great efforts to ensure that its missiles can be fired from austere locations and does not require a site like Sohae, he said
"The dismantling "A test site does not seriously limit the existing arsenal." drawings, "said Mount." While this is an important step for the regime to close its space launch programs, it has always held that these programs are distinct from military programs. After Kim's summit with Kim in Singapore on June 12, Trump said Kim had told him that the North "was already destroying a major missile engine testing site" without identifying which site. The leaders concluded their summit by declaring their ambitious goal of advancing towards a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, but doubts remain as to whether Kim would ever agree to completely abandon the nuclear weapons that he might consider as a stronger guarantee of its survival than By the end of 2017, Kim said that his nuclear weapons and missile program was over, following a torrent of nuclear tests and missiles that included the detonation of weapons. an alleged thermonuclear warhead and the flight tests of three potentially hazardous development ICBMs. able to reach the American continent. Kim announced the mission of its nuclear test site as finished weeks before inviting foreign journalists to observe the destruction of the tunnels.
The South Korean official, who did not want to be quoted, cited the supposed dismantling. "We need further analysis to understand why the North has not turned decommissioning activities into an event and whether the country is trying to control the speed of the process to keep it at a steady pace. wants, "he said.
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