Amid reported missile activity, Korean officials discuss lowering military activity

North and South Korean officials held military talks on Tuesday to discuss lowering tensions amid a fresh report that North Korea is believed to be building new missiles.

Reuters reported that military officials from both Koreas met at the border village of Panmunjom to talk about reductions in firearms and personnel along the Demilitarized Zone. They also discussed eliminating military exercises along the West Sea and a joint excavation for the remains of soldiers killed in the Korean War.

While the two sides found common ground on some issues, Reuters reported that leaders did not come to any formal agreement. They will continue talks at lower levels.

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The talks took place shortly after The Washington Post reported that satellite images taken in recent weeks appear to show that North Korea is developing at least one liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile at a large research facility outside of Pyongyang.

The Post reported that the new development is taking place at the same facility where North Korea first produced intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the U.S.

“We see them going to work, just as before,” said one U.S. official who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity.

The renewed activity comes less than two months after President Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. The two men signed an agreement there that included a pledge for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, but the pact contained few specifics on a timeline or methods.

Even so, Trump declared following the summit that North Korea “no longer” posed a nuclear threat.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later traveled to Pyongyang, where tensions escalated between the two sides. North Korean officials accused Pompeo of making “gangster-like” demands, but Pompeo said that North Korea had not pushed back in negotiations over denuclearization.