Kim Jong-un ‘destroys nuke missile launch site’ in latest peace offering before Donald Trump summit
Satellite images appear to show the base has now been razed, according to an analysis published by North Korea monitoring group 38 North.
NORTH Korean despot Kim Jong-un has dismantled one of his key ballistic missile launch sites, it emerged today.
The site had been used to test-fire missiles with a range of up to 1,200 miles.
Satellite images appear to show the base has now been razed, according to an analysis published by 38 North, a prominent North Korea monitoring group.
The images, taken on May 19, show many of the structures including impact pads and a support structure that holds up a missile at Iha-ri, in the northwest of the country, have been dismantled.
The site was believed to have been used for the development of the Pukguksong-2, one of North Korea's solid-fuelled medium-range ballistic missiles.
Solid fuelled missiles are easier to transport because liquid fuel is more volatile.
Joseph S. Bermudez Jr, who authored the report, told that it is too early to say whether the site's destruction is part of a bigger commitment to scaling back its missile testing program ahead of his summit with Donald Trump next week.
Experts say North Korea is aware of how intensely its activities are scrutinised via satellite imagery and has been known to factor that into their decision making.
"If I see similar activity or lack of activity elsewhere, then I can say it is significant. If I don't, I would say that it is less significant," said Bermudez.
"They know we're watching," he said. "They deliberately practise what we call CCD -- camouflage, conceal and deception. We have to view this in that context."
North Korea's missile program made strides in 2017, with Pyongyang saying it successfully test-fired three intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Experts say the Hwasong-15, which was launched in late November, can likely hit much of the United States.
The North Korean leader and Trump are expected to discuss Pyongyang's weapons programs when the two meet Tuesday at the Sentosa Island hotel in Singapore.
It will be the first meeting between a sitting US President and a North Korean leader.
MOST READ IN NEWS
The Iha-ri dismantlement comes after Kim agreed to stop testing missiles while engaging in dialogue with South Korea in March.
The following month he said his country would no longer test nuclear weapons because it had already successfully developed them.
Journalists, including a team from CNN, were invited to watch the North Koreans blow up the tunnels and some of the buildings at the Punggye-ri test site in May but no nuclear experts witnessed the event.