We’re still a long way from the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:
In what appears to be the latest indication that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s talk about abandoning the country’s nuclear arsenal is disingenuous, US intelligence believes Kim has increased nuclear enrichment activities at several “secret” facilities in recent months, even after securing a major concession from the US and South Korea to cancel their upcoming joint military exercises.
According to NBC News, the intelligence assessment appears to contradict President Trump’s declaration that the North is “no longer a nuclear threat,” and analysts at the CIA and other intelligence agencies agree.
Instead, the intelligence community sees the North’s overtures as part of a scheme to extract every concession it can from the Trump administration, while clinging to nuclear weapons it believes are essential to survival. Notably, the report comes just two weeks after the historic Singapore summit that produced a vague agreement between the two sides to “work toward” denuclearization.
While the North has stopped its nuclear tests, its enrichment activities have only accelerated.
In recent months, even as the two sides engaged in diplomacy, North Korea was stepping up its production of enriched uranium for nuclear weapons, five U.S. officials say, citing the latest intelligence assessment. North Korea and the U.S. agreed at the summit to “work toward” denuclearization, but there is no specific deal. On Trump’s order, the U.S. military canceled training exercises on the Korean peninsula, a major concession to Kim.
While the North Koreans have stopped missile and nuclear tests, “there’s no evidence that they are decreasing stockpiles, or that they have stopped their production,” said one U.S. official briefed on the latest intelligence. “There is absolutely unequivocal evidence that they are trying to deceive the U.S.”
Four other officials familiar with the intelligence assessment also said North Korea intended to deceive the U.S.
While the US has long been aware of North Korea’s enrichment facility at Yongbyon, as well as a second “secret” enrichment site that the US government has declined to name for security reasons, it appears satellites have discovered a second “secret” site where enrichment activities appear to be ongoing.
To continue reading: “They’re Trying To Deceive Us” – North Korea Adding To Nuclear Stockpiles, Satellite Photos Reveal
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