SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Trump says N.Korea missile work 'normal'
Washington, Nov 13 (AFP) Nov 13, 2018
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States was aware of undeclared North Korean missile bases revealed by US researchers but insisted all was fine.

"We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new -- and nothing happening out of the normal," Trump, who is seeking a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, wrote on Twitter.

"I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!" he said.

Researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a prominent Washington think tank, on Tuesday said that satellite imagery had found 13 missile bases undeclared by North Korea.

The bases can be used to hide mobile, nuclear-capable missiles, the study said, warning that North Korea could preserve the sites -- and the ability to attack -- even as it negotiates with Trump on a potentially landmark accord.

Trump described a report on the findings by The New York Times as "inaccurate" and "fake news."

South Korea also earlier played down the study, saying that the sites had been known for years.

Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for South Korea's dovish president, Moon Jae-in, disputed that North Korea was being deceptive as Pyongyang had never promised to get rid of short-range missiles.

The CSIS report said that the bases were scattered around North Korea and at times in narrow mountain valleys, meaning they could be quickly moved to launch strikes.

CSIS expert Victor Cha, who was a top adviser to former president George W. Bush, said the report underscored the risk of Trump accepting a "bad deal" in which North Korea only dismantles its most visible weapons infrastructure.

Trump has declared himself "in love" with Kim after a first-ever summit between the two nations' leaders held in June in Singapore.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has visited North Korea four times this year in hopes of preparing an agreement, in which the United States could formally declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War -- a longtime goal of the dynastic Kim regime as it seeks to safeguard its survival.

Trump, however, told a news conference last week that he was in "no rush" on North Korea after a senior delegation abruptly canceled a meeting planned with Pompeo in New York.

North Korea has boasted of its missile prowess and said that it can hit the continental United States, although many experts are skeptical of the claim.

Less disputable is that North Korea could quickly assault South Korea, including its capital Seoul, and Japan in a crisis.

North Korea deploys medium-range missiles just 55 to 100 miles (90 to 150 kilometers) from the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
ICE-CSIC leads a pioneering study on the feasibility of asteroid mining
NASA JPL Unveils Rover Operations Center for Moon, Mars Missions

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Thorium plated steel points to smaller nuclear clocks
Solar ghost particles seen flipping carbon atoms in underground detector
Overview Energy debuts airborne power beaming milestone for space based solar power

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.