Trump calls report on NK missile base 'fake news'

By Lee Min-hyung

The U.S. and South Korean governments have shattered concerns over a recent report on “undeclared” missile bases in North Korea, saying the allies have already recognized the existence of the facilities and continue to keep a close watch on them.

“We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new ― and nothing happening out of the normal,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter, Tuesday.

“(They are) just more fake news. I will be the first to let you know if things go bad,” he said.

The message was aimed at countering the report released by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Security (CSIS) which claimed it had identified locations for 13 out of 20 secret missile bases in the North.

The report has particularly highlighted one of the bases in the North's Sakkanmol, about 137 kilometers northwest of Seoul, as a potential threat to South Korea, as it is the closest to the border region and remains “reasonably well-maintained.”

With the report making headlines here and abroad, South Korea also expressed a sense of embarrassment. Cheong Wa Dae said it has already paid close attention to the reported missile bases and no provocative gestures have been detected there.

The presidential house also took issue with such terms as “undeclared” used in the report. Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said on Tuesday North Korea does not have to declare the facilities, as it has never signed any agreements with any other countries on disbanding or declaring the sites.

Amid the spiraling controversy, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the South Korean intelligence authority, also shared similar views Wednesday on the reported North Korean missile facilities.

“The NIS has already recognized the base in Sakkanmol and kept a close eye on other missile bases (in the report),” an NIS official said in a meeting with lawmakers from the National Assembly's intelligence committee, Wednesday.

The NIS also explained the status of the North's existing missiles, including mid-range Rodong missiles and short-range Scud missiles, during the meeting with lawmakers.

“South Korea and the U.S. are sharing information on North Korean nuclear and missile facilities and activities,” the official said.

The NIS also predicted North Korea has continued developing nuclear and missile weapons even after the June 12 summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Lawmakers who attended the meeting said the NIS shared its assumption that North Korea is on track to continue miniaturizing nuclear warheads even now.

Rep. Hong Young-pyo, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), said the CSIS report is nothing more than “exaggerated information.”

“CSIS cited a satellite image taken from this March, which was about three months before the Washington-Pyongyang summit,” he said. “On top of that, the missile base in Sakkanmol has already been recognized by South Korea and the U.S.”

North Korea has yet to express any reactions to the report via its propaganda outlets.