FILE PHOTO: A North Korean long-range rocket is launched into the air at the Sohae rocket launch site, North Korea Thomson Reuters By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The missile engine test site that President Donald Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had committed to destroy is a major facility in the western part of the country that has been used for testing engines for long-range missiles, according to a U.S. official. Mr Trump told reporters after their June 12 summit that Mr Kim had pledged to dismantle one of his missile installations, which would be North Korea's most concrete concession at the landmark meeting in Singapore. ALSO READ: Trump says North Korea has returned remains of 200 U.S. war dead

However, the president at the time did not name the site. The U.S. official said: “The United States will continue to monitor this site closely as we move forward in our negotiations.”

What little is known about the Sohae site, located in Tongchang-ri, has been pieced together

It was reported to have been established in 2008 and has research facilities nearby for missile development as well as a tower that can support ballistic missiles. “Chairman Kim promised that North Korea would destroy a missile engine test stand soon,” the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Text the word 'NEWS' to 22840

There was no immediate word on the exact timetable, and North Korea has not publicly confirmed that Kim made such a commitment. Bob Carlin, a former North Korea intelligence adviser for the State Department North Korea, tells CBS News it is significant that the North is destroying this testing site because it is one of the largest in the country. Although Trump has hailed the Singapore summit as a success, skeptics have questioned whether he achieved anything, given that Pyongyang, which has rejected unilateral nuclear disarmament, appeared to make no new tangible commitments in a joint written declaration.
The United States announces that North Korea will destroy the Sohae Satellite Launching Station missile test site.