N.Korea Still Operating Nuke, Missile Test Sites

North Korea is still operating the Yongbyon nuclear facility that produces fissile material for bombs and a missile engine test site in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province which leader Kim Jong-un has promised to dismantle.

The regime is also reportedly building a new submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles. Liberty Korea Party lawmaker Kim Hack-yong on Thursday made the claims based on data he received from military authorities.

U.S. intelligence reports also suggest the regime is hiding or expanding nuclear facilities ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang on Friday.

"The regime keeps improving its nuclear development program in a bid to stand up to the U.S., which continues the around-the-clock surveillance," a diplomatic source said.

Kim Hack-yong said South Korea and the U.S. believe the submarine is being built in Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province. Late last year, U.S. officials said the North is building a new submarine capable of carrying three ballistic missiles.

Kim Jong-un also seems to have reneged on a promise made to U.S. President Donald Trump last month to dismantle the Tongchang-ri missile engine test site. It is still in operation and engines are still being tested there.

The regime is also believed to be continuing to produce plutonium and enriched uranium at the Yongbyon facility.