Korean dictator Kim Jong-un used the failed June 12 summit in Singapore with president Donald Trump to clandestinely advance his nuclear weapons program, which continues to this day despite Trump's protestations to the contrary.
Western military analysts said this nuclear weapons program has been accelerated while the production of the ballistic missiles and their delivery systems continues unabated.
North Korea still retains all the fissile material it needs to make nuclear bombs and hasn't the slowed-down production of this critical commodity, revealed U.S. Army Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the highest ranking general in Korea.
"We haven't seen a complete shutdown of production yet ... There has to be demonstrable action in that direction or we cannot be satisfied and we probably can't be friends and we probably won't be at peace," said Gen. Brooks.
He noted that North Korea's nuclear "production capability is still intact." He said the United States hasn't seen "a complete shutdown of production yet. We have not seen a removal of fuel rods." Gen Brooks is the current commander of United States Forces Korea; the United Nations Command and the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command.
Building-up its capability to produce nuclear weapons isn't the only major weapons development program on North Korea's plate. However. The Republic of Korea Armed Forces recently revealed that North Korea is building its first nuclear ballistic missile submarine -- the SINPO-C ballistic missile submarine (SSB) -- at the port of Sinpo on North Korea's east coast. Sinpo is a major center of North Korea's defense industry and is located a short distance from the Mayang-Do Naval Base
38 North, a Washington-based website the constantly monitors North Korea, released commercial satellite imagery of the Sinpo South Shipyard in December 2017 showing the building of the SINPO-C SSB. It said the presence of sections of a submarine pressure hull suggests the ongoing construction of SINPO-C, which is the follow-on to the current SINPO-class experimental ballistic missile submarine (SSBA).
38 North also said a launch canister appears to be present within the service tower at the missile test stand "suggesting the ongoing ejection testing of submarine launch ballistic missiles (SLBMs). Such testing could support the continued development of SLBMs, a new ballistic missile submarine or a combination of both."
U.S. intelligence estimates SINPO-C has a submerged displacement of 2,000 tons and a beam of 36 feet, making it the largest ship built for the KPN. SINPO-C might be a successor to a Gorae-class ballistic-missile sub outfitted with a new missile-launch tube that was detected in the summer of 2017.
