Seoul's spy agency has spotted movements by supply transport vehicles at a major North Korean missile research facility, possibly indicating preparations for a rocket launch, South Korean media said Thursday, following revelations a day earlier that the North appears to be rebuilding a rocket test site it had promised to scrap.
The activity was detected at the Missile Research and Development Facility, located in the Sanum-dong neighborhood on the outskirts of Pyongyang, a major research and development facility that produced the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, which is believed to be capable of striking the U.S., the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported, citing a South Korean lawmaker who had been briefed by the spy agency on Tuesday.
The Sanum-dong facility also builds space-launch vehicles, experts have said. One, an Unha-3 rocket used in a February 2016 satellite launch at the Sohae long-range rocket facility, was seen in North Korean state media at the Sanum-dong site during an inspection by leader Kim Jong Un, according to Dave Schmerler, a senior research associate at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California who specializes in analysis of satellite imagery.