Trump says North Korean missile sites are ‘nothing new’

Nov 15, 2018, 09:17 am

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“We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new – and nothing happening out of the normal. Just more Fake News,” US President Donald Trump wrote on Tuesday on Twitter, referring to a CSIS report on Monday in the New York Times, which mentioned the undeclared Sakkanmol missile operation base and criticized North Korea for engaging in a “great deception.”/ Source: Yonhap News

By AsiaToday reporter Lee Seok-jong & Washington correspondent Ha Man-joo

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Nov 13) that he is completely aware of undeclared North Korean missile bases revealed in a US think tank report, and described the report as “nothing new.”

“The story in the NEW York Times concerning North Korea developing missile bases is inaccurate,” Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to a report on Monday in the New York Times, which mentioned the findings of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and criticized North Korea for engaging in a “great deception.”

“We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new – and nothing happening out of the normal. Just more Fake News,” Trump wrote. “I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!”

It seems that Trump believes that the US government is fully aware of North Korea’s missile bases and it does not have a significant impact on North Korea’s commitment to denuclearization.

◇ Trump and the South Korean government coincide in opinion

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) briefed lawmakers about the report in a National Assembly intelligence committee meeting on Wednesday. An NIS official explained that the intelligence agency was aware of the Sakkanmol missile operating base before the facility was analyzed by the CSIS, and said there have been usual levels of activity at the base. “We are closely watching the activity at North Korea’s missile facilities,” the official said.

There seems to be no major disagreement between Seoul and Washington as Trump’s remarks coincided with statements by South Korean government officials, including presidential spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom. They said the Sakkanmol missile base was nothing new to the intelligence communities in Washington or Seoul.

“The CSIS report and the NYT report may reflect the intentions of US hardliners who are trying to spoil the atmosphere of decentralization and peace talks between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un,” said Kim Dong-hyun, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

“However, as Trump and the South Korean government have said, there is nothing new in the CSIS report. Besides, it is virtually meaningless to issue it now,” Kim said.

“We must address these issues through North-US and inter-Korean dialogues,” he dded.

#Donald Trump #missile base #Sakkanmol #North Korea #denuclearization