North Korea Razes Missile Test Facility Ahead of Meeting With Trump

A photograph released by North Korea’s state news agency purporting to show the launch of a Pukguksong-2 missile at an undisclosed location on Feb. 12, 2017. North Korea used the now-razed Kusong site to launch such missiles.CreditKorean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Satellite imagery indicates that North Korea is razing some facilities used for testing one of its most dangerous missiles after its leader, Kim Jong-un, announced a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, according to an analysis released this week.

A “key missile test stand” that was used for testing missile ejections from canisters was demolished at a test site near Kusong in North Korea’s northwest, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., an expert on the country’s weapons systems, said in a report published Wednesday on the website 38 North.

The Kusong test site was being closely monitored by missile experts because North Korea launched its first solid-fuel midrange ballistic missile, known as Pukguksong-2, from there in February last year.

Besides its intercontinental ballistic missiles, solid-fuel missiles have been among the most worrisome additions to North Korea’s growing arsenal of ballistic missiles. They can be launched faster and are easier to transport and hide, making them more suitable for surprise attacks.