38 North group: North Korea begins dismantling rocket test site

Kim Jong Un. Pic/AFP

North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at a rocket-engine test centre, a group of experts said yesterday, potentially marking a significant step after last month's summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

According to the respected 38 North group, commercial satellite imagery of the Sohae satellite launching station indicates Pyongyang has begun taking down a processing building and a rocket-engine test stand that had been used to test liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles.

Sohae, on the northwest coast of North Korea, has been used to test rockets, with the aim of putting a satellite into orbit. But rocket engines are easily repurposed for use in missiles and outside observers say nuclear-armed Pyongyang's space programme is a fig leaf for weapons tests.

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