North Korea Building New Tunnels at Nuclear Test Site
A U.S. research institute says recent construction work at a North Korean nuclear site suggests Pyongyang may be preparing to conduct a fourth underground nuclear test.
The U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University says new satellite images show two new tunnel entrances and other construction work at North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
The Wednesday report on the institute's blog, 38 North, said there are no signs a nuclear test is imminent. It said the tunnels could either be used for nuclear detonations or, alternatively, for ventilation purposes.
However, it warned that ongoing construction activities "indicate North Korea is preparing to conduct additional detonations in the future as part of its nuclear weapons development program."
North Korea conducted underground nuclear tests in 2006, 2009, and in February of this year, in defiance of United Nations sanctions.
Pyongyang has vowed to expand its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs in response to what it sees as hostility from the United States and South Korea.
At the same time, the North says it is ready to resume six-nation nuclear talks without preconditions. The U.S. says Pyongyang must first show it is committed to its earlier promises to abandon its nuclear program.
Much of the West's knowledge of North Korea's secretive nuclear program is obtained by examining satellite photos.
Earlier this month, the U.S.-Korea Institute said the imagery showed North Korea has restarted an aging nuclear reactor at its Yongbyon site, which it had begun to dismantle as part of an international agreement in 2007.
Source: Voice of America
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