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US deploys emergency spy plane to monitor North Korea amid fears Kim Jong-un is preparing to launch a rocket devastating Trump peace-talks
Tell-tale signs have been spotted at the secretive state’s ‘Sohae Satellite Launching Station’
PENTAGON chiefs have dispatched a spy plane to monitor North Korea amid concerns it is plotting to launch a rocket, it emerged today.
Dubbed the Cobra Ball, the US Air Force RC-135S aircraft has touched down at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, according to reports.
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South Korean newspaper, the JoongAng, reported that it flew to Japan from the Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia after spying on an anti-satellite missile test conducted by the Indian military.
The US Air Force operates three of these type of spy planes which uses radar, infrared and visible spectrum cameras to track ballistic missiles while in flight.
The arrival of the aircraft in Japan follows a South Korea’s intelligence agency reporting to members of parliament in Seoul that the North is close to finishing its upgrade of its Sohae Satellite Launching Station.
Work to disassemble the facility began in July 2018 which was just weeks after Kim Jong-un met with President Donald Trump in Singapore.
But it by February work suddenly started to rebuild the base and that was just before the two leaders’ abortive talks in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi last month.
A sharp increase in road and rail traffic to the site has been noted suggesting a launch is imminent.
'ANY LAUNCH VIOLATES UN RULES'
Daniel Pinkston, a professor of international relations at the Seoul campus of Troy University, told the that North Korea will pretend it was aiming to launch a satellite.
He said: “Pyongyang has a space programme and they will again insist that they have a legitimate right to access outer space for peaceful means, although it is clear that this is dual-use technology and their space programme is heavily militarised.
“They will obtain data and be able to improve their designs, which is why any launch is in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
Professor Pinkston said a rocket launch could be a way of demonstrating anger after the failed talks with Trump.
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It comes as former Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon today insisted Britain’s military must return “East of Suez” to combat rising tensions sparked by North Korea and also China.
Sir Michael spoke out in the forward of a striking new report by Think Tank, the Policy Exchange.
It argues a post Brexit Britain must flex its muscles in the Pacific once more - reversing a 50 year old decision to withdraw forces from the region.
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President Donald Trump says he's 'disappointed' by reports of new activity at North Korean missile facility
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