KEY POINTS

  • Satellite images obtained by NBC News could indicate that North Korea is ready to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
  • North Korea has previously said that the U.S. should expect a "Christmas gift"
  • North Korea is growing tired of the sanctions placed on its economy

Satellite photos obtained by NBC News show that North Korea is likely preparing to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) which could threaten U.S. territory. The photos show a temporary structure that could be used to launch the missiles.

“We believe North Korea erects this structure when the facility is involved in producing or modifying ICBM launchers,” said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. The photos were provided by the San Francisco-based Planet Labs, an Earth-imaging company

U.S. officials are reportedly monitoring North Korean activity by the hour to gauge whether the country would launch an ICBM. North Korean media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had held a meeting this weekend to decide on how North Korea would bolster its military capabilities.

North Korea recently said it would give a “Christmas gift” to the U.S., with analysts believing it could be an ICBM. North Korea has set a year-end deadline for a nuclear deal with the U.S., with Pyongyang seeking relief from sanctions. Washington wants North Korea to pursue a denuclearization program as part of the deal.

Negotiators from the U.S. and North Korean last met in October but talks fell through after one day. President Trump has also met Kim in Vietnam and Singapore for negotiations but failed to reach a deal.

A nuclear deal with North Korea has been a major foreign policy goal of the Trump presidency. John Bolton, who recently served as Trump's National Security Adviser, has said that it is highly unlikely North Korea would surrender its arsenal of nuclear weapons.

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