Testifying at a parliamentary hearing on Monday, South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said there was no sign of any active North Korean preparation for a missile launch.
Speculation is based around satellite imagery showing some
reconstruction done at the Sohae rocket launch site. Jeong said it was
“hasty” to even call this reconstruction “missile-related activity,” as
that seems only based on the site being used for test launches in the
past.
Though Jeong didn’t want to get too deep into intelligence reports on
the site, the impression given is that what has been done isn’t
necessarily attributable to an imminent test launch, despite a lot of US
hawks presenting it as such.
Other South Korean officials also urged caution, saying that they need
more analysis to figure out what North Korea actually intends to do.
Jumping to hasty conclusions, while convenient in the wake of the Hanoi
summit, appears not to necessarily have drawn an accurate conclusion.
NK probably replaced the old rusty ‘Closed’ sign with a less rusty new ‘Closed’ sign.