SEOUL — North Korea has constructed two new buildings at a missile facility in the northern suburbs of Pyongyang and appears to be actively continuing production there, according to an analysis of newly available commercial satellite imagery, the latest sign of continued progress in the country’s nuclear and missile program.
The satellite imagery, which was captured on Sunday by San Francisco-based imagery provider Planet Labs Inc. and analyzed by experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Calif., shows two new buildings — believed to be an administrative building and a museum — newly erected at the site.
Read: North Korea suspected to be building new ICBMs: report
On June 5, days before North Korean leader Kim Jong Un flew to Singapore for a meeting with President Trump, the site of the two buildings was vacant, suggesting that most of the construction took place following the summit meeting. In addition to the construction activity, analysis of more than 40 satellite images taken this year shows consistent vehicle traffic at the site, which suggests that “the North Koreans continue to show up for work,” said David Schmerler of the Middlebury Institute.
The Missile Research and Development Facility, located in the Sanum-dong neighborhood in northern Pyongyang, is a major research and development facility built in 2012 to support development of long-range missiles and space-launch vehicles, said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the institute’s East Asia Nonproliferation Program.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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