Satellite photos appear to show activity ramping up at a North Korean work site that is believed to be producing long-range nuclear missiles.
The images, obtained exclusively by NBC on Sunday, increase rampant speculation that the communist country is getting ready to launch a nuclear weapon in the coming days.
The satellite pictures show that a temporary structure at the work site has been constructed over the course of December. Experts believe it has been erected to ‘accommodate the raising of a launcher arm’.
‘We believe North Korea erects this structure when the facility is involved in producing or modifying ICBM l[intercontinental ballistic missiles] launchers,’ Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, told NBC.
It comes amid growing alarm that North Korea may abandon diplomacy with the United States and launch one of its long-range missiles on the country.
Satellite photos appear to show activity ramping up at a North Korean work site that is believed to be producing long-range nuclear missiles. This image was captured on December 19
A projectile is fired during North Korea’s missile tests in this undated picture released by North Korea’s Central News Agency (KCNA) on November 28
On Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un further fueled international alarm by convening a key ruling party meeting to decide on steps to increase the country´s military capability.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the meeting addressed ‘important organisational and political measures and military steps to bolster up the overall armed forces … as required by the fast-changing situation and crucial time of the developing Korean revolution’.
On Saturday, The New York Times reported that ‘American military and intelligence officials are tracking North Korea’s actions by the hour… bracing for an imminent test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching American shores’.
The same day, President Trump phoned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss a ‘coordinated response’ against North Korea amid rising tensions with the communist country.
Kim Jong-un appears to have all but adandoned diplomacy talks with the US, after convening a meeting with his party on Sunday. He is pictured with President Trump in June
President Trump has phoned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss a ‘coordinated response’ against North Korea amid rising tensions with the communist country
The phone conversation lasted about 75 minutes and comes after Kim Jong-un increased his verbal attack on both the US and Japan in recent months
Following the chat, Prime Minister Abe told Nikkei Asian Review:We [he and Trump] analyzed the latest developments regarding North Korea and had a thorough discussion about the steps ahead.’
North Korea has launched several test missiles in Japan’s direction in recent months, with one allegedly landing in waters within the country’s exclusive economic zone – a 124-mile band around Japanese territory
Meanwhile, North Korea has also been taunting the US, ominously saying that the country should expect a ‘Christmas surprise’ as Kim Jong-un grows increasingly frustrated by failure of the US to lift economic sanctions against his country
Earlier this month, North Korea conducted what US officials say was an engine test which may have involved an engine for a space launch vehicle or long-range missile.
American officials are worried that North Korea could soon unveil a ‘Christmas surprise’ in the form of a missile test similar to the launch of its intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 (above) in July 2017
Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a joint statement in 2018 that said the North ‘commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’ – but so far things are not working out
Officials worry that it could be a prelude to the possible launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in the coming days or weeks.
Any test involving an ICBM would have the most serious impact on the diplomatic effort because it would be considered a move by North Korea to acquire the ability to strike the United States, or, even worse, to show they already have it.
‘North Korea has been advancing. It has been building new capabilities,’ said Anthony Wier, a former State Department official who tracks nuclear disarmament for the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
‘As long as that continues, they gain new capabilities to try new missiles to threaten us and our allies in new ways.’
The North Koreans warned of a possible ‘Christmas gift’ in early December, saying the Trump administration was running out of time to salvage nuclear negotiations, and it was up to the US to choose what ‘Christmas gift’ it gets from the North.
Victor Cha, a Korea expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a review of the possible launch sites in North Korea show that they are ‘basically ready to go.’
So far, North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un (seen above) has refused American proposals to decommission the country’s nuclear program