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US Identifies North Korean Missile Test Area

The United States has identified the test site that President Donald Trump¹ said North Korea promised to destroy.

A U.S. official said the site is the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in the western part of the country. The official described it is as a major center that has been used for testing engines for long-distance missiles.

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met June 12 in Singapore. Trump told reporters after the two met that Kim had agreed to destroy one of his missile centers. At the time, however, the president did not name the site.

The U.S. official told the Reuters news agency, “Chairman Kim promised that North Korea would destroy a missile engine test stand soon.” Reuters agreed not to identify the official.

The U.S. official also said: “The United States will continue to monitor this site closely as we move forward in our negotiations².”

North Korea has not publicly confirmed that Kim made such a promise.

CBS News was the first to identify the exact site. It is the newest of North Korea’s known major missile testing centers.

Trump has praised the Singapore meeting as a success. However, critics have questioned whether he gained anything. They say North Korea did not seem to make any clear new promises in a joint³ written declaration.

North Korea has rejected unilateral nuclear disarmament.

The U.S.-based North Korea monitoring group 38 North reported Friday that there had been no sign of any activity toward destroying Sohae or any other missile test site.

Little-known site

Little is known about the Sohae site, located in Tongchang-ri. What is know has been pieced together from experts’ reports and the North Korean state news agency KCNA.

It was reportedly established 2008 with research centers nearby for missile development. It also reportedly has a structure that can support ballistic missiles. The site is mainly used to test large engines built for long-distance missiles.

Jenny Town is a research analyst⁴ with 38 North. She said North Korea has spent considerable effort and resources to develop it as a “civilian space program” center. She said the country denies the center has a military use.

Town said, “If North Korea does destroy the Sohae facility, they are also signaling that they are willing to stop satellite/rocket launches this time around as well.” She added that this issue has hurt negotiations in the past.

North Korea has other missile testing centers. But experts say that closing Sohae would be a major development.

Ahead of the Singapore meeting, North Korea announced the suspension of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing. It also closed its nuclear bomb test site.

U.S. Defense⁵ Secretary Jim Mattis spoke⁶ to reporters Wednesday about the issue. Reporters asked if North Korea had done anything toward denuclearization since the leaders’ meeting. Mattis answered: “No, I’m not aware of that.”

He added that, “it’s the very front end of a process. The detailed⁷ negotiations have not begun. I wouldn’t expect that at this point.”

Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum⁸, said a shutdown of Sohae would be mainly symbolic⁹.

Yang said, “Sohae has technically¹⁰ been used as an ‘engine’ testing site. North Korea has already finished developing (the) Baekdu Engine, so there would be no problem running ICBM missile programs even if they close down the Sohae site.”

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

monitor –v. to watch, to observe

unilateral –adj. involving only one group or country

located –adj. to be in a specific place

signal –v. to be a sign of something

symbolic –adj. representing something else, to be a symbol for something larger

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

9 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

10 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。