U.S. Preparing for 'Christmas Gift' Mentioned by North Korea
Looks Like North Korea Is Building a 'Christmas Gift' for the U.S. at its Long-Range Missile Site
North Korea has built a new structure at a military site where it produces long-range missiles, a worrying sign that the isolated nation is preparing the "Christmas gift" it warned the U.S. about: a long-range missile test.
Planets Labs released satellite imagery showing the new structure at the March 16 Factory near Pyongyang, a site North Korea reportedly uses to build mobile launchers for its long-range missiles, according to the AP.
North Korea Promises A Christmas Surprise. Here Are The Options
North Korea doesn't really do Christmas cards, but if it did, its card would probably have a picture of the nation's leader, Kim Jong Un, riding a white horse through a snowy wilderness. In fact, North Korean state media released those exact images this month, and the message was clear: Kim, frustrated with how things were going, was pondering a new direction.
"The idea is that he was making this journey to commune with the universe in order to settle on his course," says Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, who tracks North Korea.
US on high alert for possible ‘Christmas gift’ missile from North Korea
U.S. officials are on high alert for signs of a possible missile launch from North Korea in the coming days that officials have referred to as a “Christmas gift.”
A significant launch or nuclear test would raise the end of North Korea's self-imposed moratorium on missile launches and tests. It would also be a major blow to one of President Trump’s major foreign policy goals to get North Korea back to the negotiating table to eliminate its nuclear weapons.