The Center for Strategic and International Studies reported that they have located more than 10 of supposedly 20 secret North Korean missile development sites. This goes to show that the Trump administration has a long road ahead of it in keeping North Korea compliant with any nuclear agreements.
Satellite imagery has been used to locate and identify 13 secret installations within North Korea. The search was prompted after negotiations with the country seemed to have slowed.
The authors of the report caution that while many of the facilities are primitive, it goes to show that North Korea is more than willing to attempt to hide the strength of its military capabilities.
“The dispersed deployment of these bases and distinctive tactics employed by ballistic missile units are combined with decades of extensive camouflage, concealment and deception practices to maximize the survival of its missile units from pre-emptive strikes and during wartime operations,” the authors said.
This information did little to shock North Korean analysts, who responded, “The fact that North Korea has continued to build nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in the midst of high-level diplomacy with China, South Korea, and the U.S. should not come as a surprise,” said Abraham Denmark, the Asia program director at The Wilson Center. “Despite all the summitry, North Korea is just as dangerous today as it was a year ago.”
“Improving relations with Pyongyang may be a laudable goal, but any claim that the North Korean nuclear and missile threats have been solved is either wishful thinking or purposefully deceptive,” he said.
This comes on the heels of North Korea canceling the next scheduled round of negotiations with U.S. officials. While the U.S. officially states that this is due to scheduling, it happens right after North Korean officials threatened to resume nuclear and missile testing until U.S. sanctions are removed.
President Trump and his administration has confidently said no sanctions will be lifted unless a complete denuclearization agreement is put in place.
