Satellite images show activity at North Korea’s nuclear test site

New commercial satellite images show some of the clearest signs to date that North Korea is again tunneling its remote underground nuclear test site in a way that could potentially shorten the time needed for its next test.

The April 3 images from Planet show a new tunnel called a “crosscut,” according to Jeffery Lewis, a weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies.

“The telltale sign is the dump pile in front of the tunnel. This is rock from the inside of the mountain as they dig the new tunnel,” Lewis said.

The transverse tunnel intersects with one of the main tunnels beyond the entrance, providing a shorter distance to the underground launch area. In 2018, North Korea blew up the original tunnel entrance, but it is likely that it did not destroy the entire underground structure.

This is because North Korea may be preparing to take “another provocative action” next week. April 15, a public holiday in Pyongyang, marks the birthday of the country’s founding father Kim Il Sung, according to the State Department’s special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim.

Kim told reporters on Wednesday that he did not want to speculate on the specific action Pyongyang might take, but raised the prospect that it could be a nuclear test as well as another missile launch.

nuclear tests

North Korea has carried out more than a dozen missile tests this year, including several ballistic missile launches.

“We are concerned that, in connection with the upcoming April 15th anniversary, the DPRK might be tempted to take another provocative action. We obviously hope not, but we will be prepared,” Kim said, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

Kim reiterated that the US has publicly and privately conveyed the message to North Korea that it is willing to engage diplomatically, but said the US has yet to receive a response.

The United States and allies believe North Korea is starting to prepare for a possible underground nuclear test for the first time since 2017.

North Korea recently resumed tunneling and construction activities at its underground nuclear test site, according to five US officials.

Commercially available satellite imagery had shown some indications of surface activity at Pyongyang’s remote Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

It remains unclear how long the regime would be able to test a device on site, as it depends on the pace of activity, officials say.

Preparations for a possible underground nuclear test come after North Korea tested its first suspected intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 last month.

“We remain concerned about the North Koreans – their attempt to continue to improve their nuclear capability as well as their ballistic missile capability,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.

Kirby declined to be more specific about what he was referring to in relation to the regime’s nuclear capability.

In 2018, North Korea appeared to destroy at least three nuclear tunnels, observation buildings, a metal smelter and housing at its Punggye-ri site, in a process watched by guest international journalists that the CNN reported at the time.

A team from CNN at the remote mountain site in the north of the country witnessed explosions in nuclear tunnels 2, 3 and 4, from observation decks about 500 meters away. They were among two dozen journalists invited to visit the country to observe the apparent destruction of the site.

The move was seen as North Korea made a denuclearization gesture to the Trump administration, but in the wake of ongoing rhetoric, then-President Donald Trump canceled a planned meeting with leader Kim Jong Un.

The authorities told the CNN that the US and allied intelligence agencies assess that excavation activities are underway in previously closed areas of underground tunnels, which would be critical for the resumption of underground nuclear tests.

North Korea has carried out six nuclear tests at the site, which is north of Pyongyang, the most recent and powerful of which was in September 2017.

There are also indications that North Korea’s next ballistic missile test could come as soon as the next few weeks, an official said, without specifying the reasons behind that assessment. US officials say they believe Kim is likely to resume testing a nuclear weapon.

The US intelligence community estimates that North Korea could be ready to conduct a nuclear test this year, according to the director of national intelligence’s annual threat assessment report published last month.

The DNI said the nuclear tests and long-range missile tests are “laying the foundations for an increase in tensions” on the part of the regime.

The Defense Department is considering a package of military responses to North Korea’s recent test of an improved intercontinental ballistic missile that could range from flying bombers or sailing warships in the region to strengthening exercises and training, according to officials. defense officers.

Japan and South Korea are being consulted on a potential decision and could be part of any show of force that is decided upon, officials say.

Concerns that nuclear tests could resume in the near future arises when North Korea has demonstrated a missile that could potentially reach the US.

The Pentagon continues to assess the extent to which the missile is an improved version of previous launches.

North Korea reports that the missile had a maximum altitude of 3,905 miles and flew a distance of 681 miles with a flight time of 68 minutes.

The missile test was accompanied by an edited Hollywood-style video with a soundtrack and footage from Kim.