Researchers have discovered a secret ballistic missile base in North Korea, according to a report released on Monday by Beyond Parallel, a project sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies defense think tank.
The discovery of the Sino-ri base comes after an announcement on Friday that President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un will hold a second summit next month.
“The North Koreans are not going to negotiate over things they don’t disclose," Victor Cha, one of the authors of the report, told NBC News. "It looks like they’re playing a game. They’re still going to have all this operational capability, even if they destroy their disclosed nuclear facilities.”
Ballistic missiles are the main delivery mechanism for Pyongyang's nuclear warheads, and Cha said there are no indications it is part of any discussions on denuclearization.
Cha was tapped last year as ambassador to South Korea, but his nomination was withdrawn because of policy disagreements.
The Beyond Parallel report estimated that Pyongyang has 20 undisclosed sites, where it continues to develop its ballistic missile program, with Sino-ri one of the oldest.
Trump has touted what he calls progress in denuclearization talks with Pyongyang and in American relations with North Korea.
But a former senior American official says administration officials and U.S. allies are concerned that the president will give up a great amount without getting much, concerns that have escalated since Trump's announcement on troop withdrawal from Syria after speaking with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"I can’t find anybody in the U.S. who thinks the North Koreans are denuclearizing," the former official said. "There was a reluctant conclusion that they had to roll the dice on another summit" to get negotiations moving again.
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