Advertisement

Report: More demolition seen at North Korea rocket launching station

By Wooyoung Lee
North Korea test-fired a rocket at its Sohae launch site on February 7, 2016. In a report Tuesday, 38 North reported new satellite imagery shows progress in the dismantlement of a launch pad. File Photo by Yonhap
North Korea test-fired a rocket at its Sohae launch site on February 7, 2016. In a report Tuesday, 38 North reported new satellite imagery shows progress in the dismantlement of a launch pad. File Photo by Yonhap

SEOUL, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- North Korea appears to continue dismantling a rocket launching site, a U.S. think tank said, based on satellite images.

North Korea has removed some of the remaining structures at Sohae Satellite Launching Station, according to a 38 North analysis of satellite photos on Tuesday.

Advertisement

The group, closely following North Korean affairs, said last month the country started dismantling key facilities at the station in the northwestern province. The station had been used to test major long-range ballistic missiles and satellites.

Further dismantlement activities appear to have been made at an engine test stand and a launch pad, when compared with satellite images revealed last month.

The dismantlement has been made as a follow-up to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's pledge at the June 12 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump to dismantle one of the missile test sites.

The demolition of structures at the missile launching station "represents more permanent and irreversible actions" in the North's pledge for denuclearization and such activities are significant as "there is no known facility with equivalent capabilities elsewhere in the country," the report said.

Advertisement

The facility, completed in 2009, was first used to launch the Unha 3-rocket in April 2012. In February 2016, the North launched its Gwangmyeongsong-4 satellite at the site, a month after the fourth nuclear test, according to Hankyoreh.

Latest Headlines