More ICBMs are being manufactured by North Korea
The Washington Post reported that the U.S intelligence agencies have collected satellite images indicating North Korea is manufacturing new ballistic missiles at a factory outside its capital. The newspaper said that North Korea is still working on 1 or 2 liquid-fueled ICBMs at its Sanumdong facility at the outside of Pyongyang. The report referred last month summit between the U.S President Donald Trump and North Korean President Kim Jong Un. Trump also indicated in one of his tweets that there is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Point to be noted that North and South Korea conducted their 2nd round of military talks on Tuesday since June. The first meeting took place between both parties at the border village of Panmunjom in the DMZ. The latest report of the Washington Post indicated that the new intelligence doesn’t recommend an extension of North Korean capabilities, but they agreed to continue working on advanced weapons.
The Washington Post also reported that officials have indicated that the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on North Korea’s west coast is an exception to the business as usual assessment. The newspaper wrote last week quoting the 38 North Korean monitoring sites, the North has reportedly started dismantling that facility, which was used in part to test new liquid-fuel rocket engines. Liquid-fueled ICBMs, such as the Hwasong-15, require lead time to be ready for launch and are therefore considered less destabilizing than solid-fueled rockets, which can quickly be prepared for a first strike. Last year, however, The Diplomat reported that Pyongyang had test-fired a new solid-fuel motor. It could be used to upgrade earlier liquid-fueled missiles. Some of the ballistic missiles of North Korea, including a submarine-launched variant, are already used in solid-fuel motors.