Satellite images suggest North Korea planned space launch even before Hanoi summit with President Trump
This satellite image captured on Feb. 22 shows the Sanumdong research center on the outskirts of Pyongyang. South Korea’s military said it was carefully monitoring North Korean nuclear and missile facilities after the country’s spy agency told lawmakers that new activity was detected at the center. By Simon Denyer Simon Denyer Tokyo bureau chief covering Japan, North Korea and South Korea.
The images showed signs of activity on Feb. 22 at Second Academy of Natural Sciences at Sanumdong, just outside Pyongyang, which is North Korea’s primary developer of ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles.Other images made available this week show North Korea has also rebuilt a launchpad and rocket engine test site at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, reinforcing suspicions that a rocket launch could be imminent.
Lewis said he expected North Korea would use older, and already tried and tested technology for a space launch, but said there was a possibility it could use a larger rocket that would send a more provocative signal. “So nobody in the administration advocates a step-by-step approach,” the official, who could not be named under State Department guidelines, said. “In all cases, the expectation is a complete denuclearization of North Korea as a condition for all the other steps being — all the other steps being taken.”
Instead, the official’s latest comments suggest the Trump administration is losing interest in a gradualist approach built around confidence-building and reciprocal steps. Instead, it seems to be banking on Trump’s offer that Kim go “all in,” and completely surrender its nuclear and missile arsenal in one go, in return for economic rewards and “a brighter future.” Among the North Korea-watching community, such a prospect is seen as completely unrealistic.
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