U.S. identifies North Korea missile test
site it says Kim committed to destroy
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[June 21, 2018]
By Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The missile engine
test site that President Donald Trump said North Korean 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 U.S. official.
Trump told reporters after their June 12 summit that Kim had pledged to
dismantle one of his missile installations, which would be North Korea's
most concrete concession at the landmark meeting in Singapore.
However, the president at the time did not name the site.
A U.S. official identified it on Wednesday as the Sohae Satellite
Launching Ground, saying North Korea "has used this site to test
liquid-propellant engines for its long-range ballistic missiles."
Pyongyang has said its missiles can reach the United States.
"Chairman Kim promised that North Korea would destroy a missile engine
test stand soon," the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of
anonymity.

There was no immediate word on the exact timetable, and North Korea has
not publicly confirmed that Kim made such a commitment.
CBS News was the first to identify the site, which is the newest of
North Korea's known major missile testing facilities.
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 U.S.-based North Korea monitoring group 38 North said in an analysis
at the end of last week there had been no sign of any activity toward
dismantling Sohae or any other missile test site.
The U.S. 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 North Korean
state news agency KCNA.
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.
North Korea has spent considerable effort and resources to develop the
site as a "civilian space program" facility, denying that it has a
military application, said Jenny Town, a research analyst at the 38
North.
"Presumably, if North Korea does destroy the Sohae facility, they are
also signaling that they are willing to stop satellite/rocket launches
this time around as well, a point that has derailed negotiations in the
past and is a significant new development," she said.
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A North Korean long-range rocket is launched into the air at the
Sohae rocket launch site, North Korea, in this photo released by
Kyodo February 7, 2016. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Kyodo

North Korea 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
South Korea.
North Korea announced ahead of the Singapore summit the suspension
of its ICBM testing and also closed its nuclear bomb test site. U.S.
officials, however, have cautioned that such actions are reversible.
Asked on Wednesday whether North Korea has done anything toward
denuclearization since the summit, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
told reporters: "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."
Yang Uk, senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security
Forum, agreed that a shutdown of the Sohae testing site would be a
symbolic gesture rather than a move to technically disable its
missile capabilities.
"Sohae has technically been used as an 'engine' testing site. North
Korea has already finished developing (the) Baekdu Engine, so there
would be no problem running ICBM missile programs even if they close
down the Sohae site," Yang said.
The move will only be significant if North Korea takes more than
cosmetic steps to fully shutter the site, not just the test stand,
said Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James martin
Center for Nonproliferation Studies.


"It's only a good deal if they dismantle all the facilities at Sohae
and re-employ the scientists in something civilian," she said.
(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in
WASHINGTON and Christine Kim, Josh Smith, and Jeongmin Kim in SEOUL;
Editing by Lisa Schumaker and Darren Schuettler)
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