Despite seemingly improving relations between North Korea and the U.S.,... NBC News has reported that North Korea has been concealing its ongoing nuclear activity, citing senior U.S. officials.
Regarding this, the U.S. government said... if such is true then the U.S. will respond accordingly.
Park Ji-won has more on this.
NBC News, citing three senior U.S. officials,... reported that North Korea has been intensifying its efforts to conceal its nuclear weapons production.
According to NBC, In the three months after the Singapore summit,... North Korea has been frequently moving equipment and has built structures to hide the entrance to a warhead storage facility,... to hinder U.S. intelligence activity.
The report also said U.S. intelligence assessments suggest that Pyeongyang could produce five to eight new nuclear weapons this year.
According to the cited officials,... the North's pace is estimated to be similar,... to the regime's previous production rate of about six weapons a year,.. before the North Korea-U.S. summit.
The cited officials said the U.S. will, as the first measure,... step up pressure at sea,.. with an international maritime coalition made up of the U.S., South Korea, the UK, France and other countries,... looking for ships that are involved in illegal transfers of goods to and from North Korea.
Regarding the NBC report, VOA reported that the U.S. government is closely watching the North's moves, and if it finds out that North Korea isn't keeping up its promise to denuclearize,... the U.S. will act accordingly.
Citing phone conversations with a source at the U.S. State Department,... VOA reported that North Korea's nuclear activities haven't yet been halted.
The VOA's source also said the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General's 2018 report shows the North is continuing nuclear activities,... and the State Department shares the IAEA's views,... saying the North's nuclear activities are a cause for grave concern.
The cited official emphasized that what the U.S. pursues is a fully verified denuclearization of the North Korean regime,... and if Pyeongyang fails,...then international sanctions will remain,... and the U.S. maximum pressure policy will continue until the North's actions correspond with its rhetoric.
Park Ji-won, Arirang News.