--- description: Activity resumed at a major missile testing site, which had been dormant since last year, just two days after the failed Trump-Kim summit title: Report: North Korea Repairing Launch Site Amid Failed Talks image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15664440f2499a78/698945be22fb857de3e27d77/donald-trump-north-korea-summit.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [North Korea](/tag/north-korea/) ## North Korea Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Korea Is Rebuilding a Launch Site Amid Collapse of Denuclearization Talks, Reports Say by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 6, 2019 4:45 AM CUT  In this June 12, 2018, photo, U.S. President Donald Trump stands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a meeting on Sentosa Island, in Singapore. For some observers, the nightmare result of the second summit between Trump and Kim is an ill-considered deal that allows North Korea to get everything it wants while giving up very little, even as the mercurial leaders trumpet a blockbuster nuclear success. In this June 12, 2018, photo, U.S. President Donald Trump stands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a meeting on Sentosa Island, in Singapore. For some observers, the nightmare result of the second summit between Trump and Kim is an ill-considered deal that allows North Korea to get everything it wants while giving up very little, even as the mercurial leaders trumpet a blockbuster nuclear success.Evan Vucci—AP by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Mar 6, 2019 4:45 AM CUT North Korea has made repairs at a major [missile launch site](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-nuclear/north-korea-restoring-part-of-launch-site-it-promised-trump-to-dismantle-idUSKCN1QM1ZA "undefined") it had begun dismantling after agreeing with U.S. President Donald Trump to work toward denuclearization at their [first meeting](http://time.com/5309425/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-summit-document-full-text/ "undefined") in Singapore last June. Reuters reports that the country began restoring the facility just two days after their second summit [failed to produce an agreement](http://time.com/5540780/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-summit-no-deal/ "undefined") between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un in Hanoi late last week. The latest construction at the Sohae launch site, also known as the Tongchang-ri launch site, in the country’s north near the border with China, includes a new roof and door at the facility, according to Reuters. Jenny Town, managing editor at the Washington-based monitoring website 38 North, told Reuters that work on the launchpad can also be seen in satellite images. A [report](https://beyondparallel.csis.org/hanoi-summit-rebuilding-sohae-launch-facility/ "undefined") released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), also based in Washington, says that satellite imagery dated March 2 “shows that North Korea is pursuing a rapid rebuilding of the long-range rocket site at Sohae.” The construction “may indicate North Korean plans to demonstrate resolve in the face of U.S. rejection of North Korea’s demands at the summit,” CSIS said in a statement. Although Trump has repeatedly claimed that North Korea was willing to denuclearize after his first meeting with Kim, the dismantling of the Sohae site was one of the [only signs of progress.](http://time.com/5346555/north-korea-sohae-launch-pad/ "undefined") Trump abruptly ended talks with Kim in the Vietnamese capital last week, saying that Pyongyang insisted the U.S. remove all sanctions on North Korea. But at a [rare news conference](http://time.com/5541900/trump-north-korea-summit-demands/ "undefined") held by the North Koreans, senior officials said they had only asked for partial sanctions relief in exchange for closure of their main nuclear site at Yongbyon. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5545524/north-korean-nuclearization-resumes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5545524/north-korean-nuclearization-resumes/"},"headline":"North Korea Is Rebuilding a Launch Site Amid Collapse of Denuclearization Talks, Reports Say","datePublished":"2019-03-06T04:45:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:56:57.954Z","description":"Activity resumed at a rocket launch site days after Trump-Kim talks collapsed","url":"https://time.com/5545524/north-korean-nuclearization-resumes/","keywords":["North Korea","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15664440f2499a78/698945be22fb857de3e27d77/donald-trump-north-korea-summit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15664440f2499a78/698945be22fb857de3e27d77/donald-trump-north-korea-summit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"donald-trump-north-korea-summit","caption":"Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un","creditText":"Evan Vucci—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/north-korea/","name":"North Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5545524/north-korean-nuclearization-resumes/","name":"North Korea Is Rebuilding a Launch Site Amid Collapse of Denuclearization Talks, Reports Say"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"President Trump Leaves Empty-Handed: Second Summit With Kim Jong Un Ends Without a Deal","description":"President Donald Trump has hastily cut short his two-day summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, ending the talks early and leaving empty handed.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/GAlp1Pg4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-02-28T08:04:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GAlp1Pg4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5545524/north-korean-nuclearization-resumes/","duration":"PT2M57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5545524/north-korean-nuclearization-resumes/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```