US military and intelligence agencies estimate that North Korea may be ready to resume underground nuclear tests this month, according to three US officials.
The assessment concludes that the Kim Jong Un regime is making preparations at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and could be ready to conduct a test by the end of the month.
Signs of activity by personnel and vehicles at the site were seen through satellite imagery, but officials do not know whether the regime placed nuclear material in one of the test site’s underground tunnels, which the United States is watching closely.
If North Korea does carry out a test, it will be the country’s seventh underground nuclear test and the first in nearly five years.
Biden will travel to South Korea and Japan
US President Joe Biden is due to visit South Korea and Japan later this month. It wouldn’t be the first time the threat of a nuclear test has hovered over a presidential visit: North Korea was preparing for a test in 2014, when President Barack Obama visited South Korea. And in 2016, North Korea conducted a nuclear test shortly after Obama and other world leaders left Asia after a summit.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that the White House is not worried about the president’s trip to East Asia later this month.
“I would say we certainly always assess safety as we do with any of the president’s trips, but that hasn’t been a concern as his trip is coming up in a few weeks,” Psaki said.
He added, “There is no doubt that North Korea will be on the topics of visits to South Korea and Japan.”
North Korea’s nuclear tests
Last month, CNN reported that satellite imagery showed North Korea was re-tunneling at its remote underground nuclear test site to potentially shorten the time needed to carry out its next test.
North Korea has carried out six previous nuclear tests at the site, which is north of Pyongyang, the last one in September 2017. In addition to its preparations for a possible nuclear test, North Korea has carried out repeated ballistic missile tests this year. , the last of which took place on Wednesday.
Based on satellite imagery, the cross tunnel at the test site intersects with one of the main tunnels beyond the entrance, meaning there is less distance to the underground launch area. In 2018, North Korea blew up the original tunnel entrance, but it likely didn’t destroy the entire underground structure.
Worry at the Pentagon
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that the Pentagon was “very concerned” about North Korea’s missile tests, adding that the United States and the international community condemned the provocations.
“Frankly, there’s never a good time for North Korea to do these kinds of tests,” Kirby said. “We continue to ask you to stop these provocative tests and be willing to sit down, as we offer, without preconditions, and discuss a diplomatic path to denuclearize the country.”
Kirby told reporters that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a phone call Thursday with South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook to discuss the security environment on the Korean peninsula.
Last month, Kim vowed to accelerate his country’s development of nuclear weapons, saying during a military parade that Pyongyang would “strengthen and develop” its nuclear forces at the “fastest speed possible”.
Wednesday’s missile test was North Korea’s 13th this year, up from eight in 2021 and four in 2020. This year’s tests included the launch of an ICBM in March, the first time Pyongyang has launched such a type of missile. missile in four years.
Source: CNN Brasil
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