Imminent N. Korea nuke test ruled out
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RECENT satellite images of North Korea’s nuclear and rocket test sites do not point to any imminent tests, a US think-tank said yesterday, despite last week’s threat by the country to flex its nuclear muscle.
The images indicate that excavation continues on a new tunnel at the remote Punggye-ri test site in the northeast, but there is little or no activity at other key parts of the facility, said the closely followed 38 North website of the Johns Hopkins University’s US-Korea Institute.
“In short, there are no indicators that a new test will be conducted in the next few months,” the website said.
North Korea last week threatened to demonstrate its nuclear deterrence in a move that analysts say could indicate the regime is preparing to carry out a fourth atomic test amid long-stalled disarmament talks.
The powerful National Defence Commission, chaired by leader Kim Jong Un, said North Korea would continue efforts “to bolster its nuclear deterrence for self-defense.”
“And additional measures will be taken to demonstrate its might, one after another, as long as the US nuclear threat and blackmail persist as now,” the NDC said in a statement.
The purpose of the ongoing excavation at Punggye-ri is unclear, 38 North said last month, adding that Pyongyang is unlikely to use this tunnel for its next test since two other tunnels at the site already appear complete.
Construction continues at the gantry and launch pad of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on the western coast, where two launches of the long-range Unha rocket were conducted in 2012, the think-tank said, with the work unlikely to be completed for several months.
There is also no apparent test-related activity at North Korea’s other long-range rocket launching site at Tonghae on the northeastern coast, which was last used for testing in 2009.
North Korea staged its third — and most powerful — nuclear test in February last year after two tests in 2006 and 2009.
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