The launches were controversial as they were dismissed by the US as tests of ballistic missile technology and hence of breach of an agreement made between North Korea and the US in February 2012.

[4] This pledge was made official as part of the Pyongyang Declaration which Kim and South Korean leader Moon Jae-In signed at the September 2018 inter-Korean summit.

[10][11] North Korea had previously claimed the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 and Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 launches successful,[12][13] despite American military sources confirming that they failed to achieve orbit.

[17][18][19] A statement broadcast on Korean Central Television said that a new Earth observation satellite, Kwangmyongsong-4, had successfully been put into orbit less than 10 minutes after lift-off from the Sohae space centre in North Phyongan province.

Western sources identified a building as a "high bay processing facility" which turned out to be the launch control centre when the site was visited by journalists.

[29] In September 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un and South Korean leader Moon Jae-In signed the "Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018", which, among other things, pledged for North Korea to complete its dismantlement of Sohae and allow foreign experts to observe the dismantling of the missile engine testing site and a launch pad.

[30] Officials from South Korea's National Intelligence Service who visited the site on 31 October 2018 stated that Sohae was in fact being dismantled and was ready for an upcoming international inspection.

[6] After the U.S.-North Korea summit in February 2019 ended without an agreement, new open-source satellite images showed that the site was undergoing reconstruction and appeared operational.

[34] The next day, North Korea announced that it had carried out a "very important test" at the site, and said it would play a "significant role" in changing the country's strategic position in the near future.