North Korea appears to be building a monument to mark the first launch of its Hwasong-12 intermediate range ballistic missile in May 2017, a U.S. monitor said Thursday, citing satellite imagery. The Center for Strategic and International Studies said satellite imagery from May 24 shows the probable construction of a monument at the launch site in Kusong, northwestern North Korea. Construction began a year after the May 14 firing, but has been suspended for the past seven months for unknown reasons, according to the think tank.

This month’s imagery suggests the suspension continues, it said, adding that the potential monument measures approximately 27.5 meters long and, at its widest point, 10 meters wide. At the time of the launch, North Korea claimed to have successfully tested a new ballistic missile capable of carrying a “large-size heavy nuclear warhead.” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also warned that the U.S. mainland was within striking range. The CSIS noted that North Korea’s short-range missile launches in May were also conducted from Kusong. The regime has built memorials for the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile launch in July 2017 and the Hwasong-15 ICBM launch in November 2017, it said.

(Yonhap)