북한 미사일 시설에서 새로운 움직임 포착 미국 공공 라디오 NPR 보도

북한 북서부 동창리 미사일 시설 "서해 위성 발사장"에서 새로운 도로가 건설되고 있다고 하는 것을 회보가 미국 공영 라디오 (NPR)의 보도를 바탕으로 전했다

NPR은 27일 상업용 위성에 의한 최신 영상을 공개했다.도로 건설의 목적은 불분명하다고 한다

NPR은 북한은 미사일 시설 이용을 재개하고 인공위성 발사와 ICBM 발사, 엔진실험을 실시하고 싶어 할 수도 모른다"고 매사추세츠공대(MIT)의 비핀 나란 부교수의 말을 인용했다.

21일 한국 합참은 북한이 단거리 탄도미사일 2발을 동해쪽의 향해 발사했다고 밝혔다

North Korea Seen Expanding Rocket Launch Facility It once Promised To Dismantle

Imagery shows new roads appearing at a key rocket and missile test site in North Korea. The roads (light brown) appear to have been built around mid-March.

North Korea appears to be expanding a key rocket launch facility it once pledged to dismantle, according to new satellite imagery shared exclusively with NPR.

The imagery, taken by commercial company Planet and shared via the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, shows new roads under construction at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station.

Sohae has been used in the past by North Korea to conduct satellite launches and test powerful engines for its long-range missiles. Parts of the facility were dismantled following a 2018 summit in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Kim promised to fully dismantle the site in the presence of international inspectors if a deal could be reached.

Following a breakdown in diplomacy, key parts of Sohae were rebuilt, and last year, the site was used to conduct missile engine tests.

Now, satellite imagery shows new roads in a long-abandoned section of the site, according to Dave Schmerler, a senior research associate with the Middlebury Institute.

"We're seeing roadwork that would facilitate the possible addition of new structures," he says.

The exact nature of the expansion remains unclear, but Schmerler says any changes at Sohae are important. "It's a site that hasn't seen a lot of physical construction activity in a long time," he says.

"The site was supposed to be shut down — apparently it's not," says Vipin Narang, an arms control researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who follows North Korea's program.

"It's hard to know what it is, but they're clearly reactivating it and preparing for personnel to be there, which suggests that they may want to start using it again," Narang says. "Maybe they want to test a satellite launch vehicle; maybe they want to test an ICBM; maybe they want to test an engine."