New satellite images reveal North Korea has expanded a long-range missile base in the country's mountainous interior in defiance of its stated commitment to denuclearize, CNN reported Wednesday.
According to CNN, the imagery offers evidence the Yeongjeo-dong missile base and a nearby, previously unreported site remain active and have been continuously upgraded.
Researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey say the evidence of construction at a new facility 7 miles from the Yeongjeo-dong base has not been previously publicly identified, CNN reported.
"Satellite images show that the base remains active," an institute report states, CNN reported.
"Moreover, in the past year North Korea has significantly expanded a nearby facility that appears to be another missile base."
The images indicate North Korea was building a large underground facility in 2017 and it was still under construction in August 2018.
"Construction on the previously unidentified site has continued even after the Singapore Summit" between Kim and President Donald Trump in June, Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute, one of the analysts that identified the site, told CNN.
"Whatever Kim says about his desire for denuclearization, North Korea continues to produce and deploy nuclear armed missiles."
The site's location makes it a strong candidate to receive North Korea's newest long-range missiles, including those that can carry nuclear weapons, according to Lewis and colleague David Schmerler, CNN reported.
"We watch North Korea very closely," Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Chris Logan told CNN. "We continue to support the diplomatic process. We will not discuss matters of intelligence."
The State Department declined to comment to the news outlet.
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