North Korea has not given up their nuclear weapons program, think tank says

North Korea continues to secretly develop its nuclear weapons program despite months of talks with the United States, according to a report released Monday by the Washington based think tank Center for Strategic and International Strategic Studies (CSIS).

The document argues that, despite talks between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un , Pyongyang is reinforcing thirteen secret facilities that serve primarily to store nuclear weapons.

These improvements include the expansion of some of these bases and the construction of access roads.

The report includes satellite photos that show that in recent months North Korea has carried out a number of improvements to a series of facilities that would “support a missile launch in an emergency.”

This information is a setback for President Trump, who in recent months has boasted about the progress made after his summit with Kim in Singapore on Jun. 12, which led, among other gestures, to the decommissioning of the Sohae missile base, in the northwest of the country in July.

“North Korea’s decommissioning of the Sohae satellite launch facility, while gaining much media attention, obscures the military threat to US forces and South Korea from this and other undeclared ballistic missile bases,” CSIS notes.

Kim agreed to abandon his nuclear program and was willing to be inspected by international organizations in exchange for the US to also make concessions.

However, in recent weeks, negotiations have cooled down as Pyongyang considers that it has already taken several steps but has not had the expected response from Washington, which has neither relaxed the sanctions nor canceled its joint military maneuvers with South Korea, something North Korea considers a provocation.