Possible Activity in North Korea’s Rocket Facility Alarming

The world has been brought to the attention of a North Korean rocket assembly facility after latest satellite images revealed a possible launch preparations. A US-based think tank, 38 North believes that the Sohae Satellite Launch Facility, which had partially been disassembled, is now back to normal operations. Experts say the facility resumed operations after US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's failed summit in Hanoi.

Jeffery Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, studied the latest satellite images. Lewis said the evidence points to a satellite launch. Melissa Hanham, a North Korea expert, said they don't know what is on the train because the facility produces both ICBMs and space rockets. "We also don't know how far the train has gotten." Hanham said a satellite launch is the most likely scenario because there has never been an ICBM launch from Sohae. She added the activity at the launch site should indicate about a week in advance whether a launch is imminent.

Experts have maintained that North Korea's attempts to shoot satellites into space will help them develop viable long range ballistic missiles.