South Korea's military has said that it was closely monitoring North Korean facilities in close coordination with the US after a series of satellite images triggered an international alarm that Pyongyang might be preparing a long-range missile or space launch. Analysis indicates increased activity at two key sites the Samundong missile research facility and the Sohae rocket-testing facility.
The US news outlet NPR reported that satellite images of Samundong taken on 22nd February showed cars and trucks at the site, as well as rail cars and
cranes at a yard. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed last year to shutter the Sohae site at a summit with the South's President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang.
North Korea has been banned by the UN security council from carrying out space launches, as some of its technology was similar to that used for intercontinental ballistic missiles. Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, the US President Donald Trump has been cautious in his forecasts, continuing to suggest a deal remains possible.