North Korea conducted six underground nuclear tests at this site between 2006 and 2017. (Representative)
Seoul:
A US-based think tank said on Thursday it appeared to be expanding recovery work at its nuclear test site, while South Korean and US officials said a new nuclear test could have a negative effect. can happen any day.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies says work and preparations at Tunnel 3 at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility are now complete and ready for a possible nuclear test. , the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report, citing commercial satellite imagery.
For the first time, analysts also detected new construction activity at Tunnel 4, the report adds.
Outside Tunnel 3, images showed a retaining wall and some small landscape with small trees or bushes, likely in anticipation of a visit by senior officials, the report said.
North Korea conducted six underground nuclear tests in the area between 2006 and 2017.
The two tunnels had never previously been used for nuclear testing and their entrances were demolished in 2018 when North Korea announced a ban on testing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Leader Kim Jong Un has said he is no longer bound by that ban because of the lack of reciprocal steps in the US’s denuclearization talks and Pyongyang’s resumption of ICBM testing this year. .
South Korean officials this week said North Korea is ready to conduct a nuclear test “at any time” and that the timing is now solely on Kim’s side.
Following a meeting with US officials in Washington, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Monday said any provocation by North Korea, including a nuclear test, would be met with a response. respond in a unified and resolute manner, and call on China to use its influence.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
