US identifies DPRK missile engine test site it says Kim pledged to destroy

World
Europe

The missile engine test site that President Donald Trump said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un had committed to destroy is a major facility in the western part of the country that has been used for testing engines for long-range missiles, according to a US official.

After their June 12 summit, Trump said that Kim had pledged to dismantle one of his missile installations, which would be DPRK's most concrete concession at the landmark meeting in Singapore. However, the president at the time did not name the site.

A US official identified it on Wednesday as the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, saying that the DPRK "has used this site to test liquid-propellant engines for its long-range ballistic missiles." Pyongyang has said its missiles can reach the US.

A ballistic rocket is test-fired through a precision control guidance system in this undated photo released by the DPRK's Korean Central News Agency, May 30, 2017. /VCG Photo

"Chairman Kim promised that the DPRK would destroy a missile engine test stand soon," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. There was no immediate word on the exact timetable, and the DPRK has not publicly confirmed that Kim made such a commitment.

Although Trump has hailed the Singapore summit as a success, skeptics have questioned whether he achieved anything, given that Pyongyang, which has rejected unilateral nuclear disarmament, appeared to make no new tangible commitments in a joint written declaration.

The US-based DPRK monitoring group 38 North said there had been no sign of any activity toward dismantling Sohae or any other missile test site.

The US official said: "The United States will continue to monitor this site closely as we move forward in our negotiations."

Little-known site

What little is known about the Sohae site, located in Tongchang-ri, has been pieced together from analysts' assessments and the DPRK's state news agency KCNA.

North Koreans watch a television screen showing footage of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un attending a summit in Singapore with US President Donald Trump, in Pyongyang, June 14, 2018. /VCG Photo

It was reported to have been established in 2008 and has research facilities nearby for missile development as well as a tower that can support ballistic missiles. The site is mainly used to test large Paektusan engines built for long-range missiles such as the Hwasong-15.

The DPRK has other missile testing facilities but the shutdown, if it happens, would be significant, analysts said.

"The missile testing is not just done in Tongchang-ri so it does not necessarily mean all ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) will be disabled. But the most well-known one is this, so there is a great symbolic meaning if this is shut down," said Moon Hong-sik, a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy in the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The DPRK announced ahead of the Singapore summit the suspension of its ICBM testing and also closed its nuclear bomb test site. US officials, however, have cautioned that such actions are reversible.

Asked on Wednesday whether the DPRK has done anything toward denuclearization since the summit, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said: "No, I'm not aware of that. I mean, obviously, it's the very front end of a process. The detailed negotiations have not begun. I wouldn't expect that at this point."

Source(s): Reuters