North Korea begins to dismantle missile test site
Seoul, July 24 : North Korea has begun to dismantle a missile engine testing site in line with a promise made by its leader Kim Jong-un at his historic summit with US President Donald Trump, according to a US-based monitoring group.
According to 38 North, the images taken from July 20-22 and published by the North Korea-focused website, showed key facilities being dismantled at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, located in the north Pyongan province, near the country's northwestern border with China.
The facilities included a rail-mounted processing building, used to assemble space launch vehicles before they are moved to the launch pad. Completed around 2011, Sohae is considered the main base for North Korea's space programme and has been used for three important launches.
Also being dismantled was a rocket engine test stand that had been used to build liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles, Yonhap news agency reported.
"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile programme, these efforts represent a significant confidence building measure on the part of North Korea," 38 North said, adding that the work probably began sometime within the past two weeks.
The dismantling of Sohae could help in expediting US-North Korea dialogue after the two sides agreed to improve ties and work for the denuclearization of the peninsula in exchange for Washington guaranteeing the North Korean regime's survival during the June 12 summit in Singapore between the leaders of the two countries.
During his summit with Trump, Kim agreed to dismantle the rocket engine testing facility. The declaration signed by the two sides, however, was criticized for not laying down protocols or concrete steps.
A recent visit by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had also highlighted the different priorities of the two governments and the complexities of a process which could stretch over a long time.
Pyongyang had also urged Seoul and Washington to sign a treaty formally ending the Korean War. The US Department of State responded on Monday by saying that the agreement would be signed after North Korea's denuclearization.
Meanwhile, South Korea reacted positively to reports of the dismantling of the missile site.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
