Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Trump Appears to Have Been Duped by Kim After Hanoi Summit Failure: Time Will Tell

So-hae (Tongchang-ri) Missile Launch Facility 

Key Findings @ NK’s So-hae Missile Launch Site from CSIS.org here:

1.    Commercial satellite imagery (re: CISS sat shot above) acquired on March 2, 2019, shows that North Korea is pursuing a rapid rebuilding of the long-range rocket site at So-hae.
2.    This renewed activity, taken just two days after the inconclusive Hanoi summit between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un, may indicate North Korean plans to demonstrate resolve in the face of U.S. rejection of North Korea’s demands at the summit to lift five UN Security Council sanctions enacted in 2016-2017.
3.    Activity is evident at the vertical engine test stand and the launch pad’s rail-mounted rocket transfer structure.
4.    Significantly, the environmental shelters on the umbilical tower, which are normally closed, have been opened to show the launch pad.

5.    Significantly, the environmental shelters on the umbilical tower, which are normally closed, have been opened to show the launch pad.

Trump’s reaction to this news from USA TODAY in part:

WASHINGTON – President Trump said he would be very disappointed in Kim Jong-Un if North Korea is rebuilding a rocket launch site just days after the two boasted of their strong relationship during a summit in Vietnam, adding: “I would be very disappointed if that is happening.” As he cautioned that it was “a very early report.”

Satellite imagery (see above) just released suggests that North Korea began rapidly rebuilding the launch site just days after the Vietnam summit between Trump and Kim failed to achieve a breakthrough on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.  

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) obtained and analyzed the images at the So-hae (Tongchang-ri) launch facility (NW North Korea).

My 2 cents: Stay tuned as this story develops.

Thanks for stopping by.

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