North Korea is reportedly making new missiles in the same factory that produced the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of targeting the USA, senior US intelligence sources claim.
US spy agencies said new evidence, including satellite photos, have revealed the country is creating a liquid-fueled ICBM at a research facility outside Pyongyang,
The construction of new missiles comes after US President Donald Trump declared the isolated state was “no longer a nuclear threat” following a historic summit last month.
Mr Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and agreed to a pledge to “work towards” the “denucleariasation” of the Korean Peninsula.
The reported new missile construction follows Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's testimony last week in which he told senators Pyongyang continues to make nuclear fissile material, without indicating whether North Korea was building new missiles.
Kim Jong-un agreed to "denuclearise" North Korea. Source: AAP
Imagery from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency suggests ongoing work on at least one Hwasong-15 ICBM at the Sanumdong plant, the Washington Post said.
The powerful Hwasong-15 has the proven capability to hit the US East Coast.
"We see them going to work, just as before," one US official told the newspaper.
But at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on North Korea's west coast, workers can be seen dismantling an engine test stand, in line with a promise made to Trump at the summit, though the move is seen as more symbolic since the facility can easily be rebuilt.
An image taken on July 7 showed a bright-red covered trailer in a loading area that appears to be identical to those vehicles the country has previously used to transport ICBMs.
Other officials and analysts said North Korea’s continued work on missile technology was unsurprising as Kim made no firm promises to Mr Trump during their meeting.
