North Korea is preparing for its first nuclear bomb test in nearly five years, government sources in South Korea told local media.
Kim Jong Un’s secretive regime appears to be hastily building a “shortcut” to a tunnel at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in preparation for a seventh underground nuclear blast, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Sunday.
Warnings about the nuclear test, which would be the first since September 17, come just days after the North tested its massive Hwasong-17 ICBM, which could drop a warhead anywhere in the United States.
Kim’s latest saber-rattling comes as the world focuses on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and adds to the geopolitical challenges facing President Joe Biden.
Kim Jong Un’s secretive regime appears to be hastily building a “shortcut” to a tunnel at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site (above) in preparation for a seventh underground nuclear blast, South Korean government sources say
The North Korean leader is seen March 24 near what state media reports are a new type of ICBM
North Korea’s latest launch was a huge new intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported on Friday. General view during test firing of what state media saw in this undated photo dated March 24
The latest information on North Korea’s nuclear test plans comes from South Korea’s military and intelligence agencies, which say they have uncovered signs the North is restoring an underground test facility that was shut down during negotiations in 2018.
Work at the mountainous site in the north-west of the country appears to have taken a turn that suggests restoring access to Tunnel 3 is a high priority.
“(The North) has abruptly halted its initial construction work to restore the entrance to Tunnel 3 and is digging up the side (of the tunnel),” a source told Yonhap, asking not to be identified.
“In this way it seems possible to restore (the test facilities) in a month.”
Major weapons tests in North Korea often coincide with national holidays, and Kim may be eyeing a nuclear demonstration for Military Foundation Day, which falls on April 25.
Experts tell Yonhap the North may be testing a small tactical nuclear weapon that can be loaded onto ballistic missiles.
Although smaller nuclear weapons may seem less threatening than massive thermonuclear bombs, arms control experts warn that since they are designed for use in battlefield scenarios, they can lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons.
The Arms Control Association estimates that North Korea currently has about 40 to 50 serviceable nuclear warheads.
Satellite images show the Punggye-ri site on February 18 (left) and with new construction on March 4 (right).
North Korean leader Jim is seen walking around a new ICBM, state media reports say. It came a day after the militaries of South Korea and Japan said they had discovered the North was launching an ICBM
This photo distributed by the North Korean government shows a Hwasong-17 ICBM before its test fire at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 24, 2022
On Thursday, North Korea fired its cartoonishly massive Hwasong-17 ICBM for the first time, demonstrating the capabilities of a weapon potentially capable of planting a nuclear warhead anywhere in the United States.
Thursday’s launch extended a spate of gun demonstrations this year that analysts say are aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power and lifting crippling sanctions on its ailing economy.
North Korean state television dramatized the missile testing process like a Hollywood movie, showing Kim walking in slow motion in front of a giant missile wearing sunglasses and a black leather motorcycle jacket.
After a series of quick cuts from Kim and military officials staring at their watches, Kim removes his sunglasses and nods, and the missile is shown being rolled out of the hangar.
However, analysts said that shadows, weather and other aspects of the images suggest the launch shown by North Korea actually took place on a different date and time.
“Several visual evidence suggests that North Korea’s version of events is at best misleading and possibly at worst a complete fabrication of a successful Hwasong-17 test,” said NK Pro, a Seoul-based research website that tracks North Korea, in a test report.
Launched at a high angle to avoid neighbors’ territorial waters, the Hwasong-17 reached a maximum altitude of 3,880 miles and covered 680 miles during a 67-minute flight before colliding in waters between North Korea and Japan, Pyongyang, landed said the official Korean Central News Agency.
KCNA claimed the launch met its technical goals and proved that the ICBM could operate rapidly in wartime conditions.
The South Korean and Japanese militaries had announced similar flight details, which analysts said indicated the missile could reach targets as far as 9,320 miles away if launched on a normal trajectory with a warhead weighing less than a ton.
North Korea on Thursday launched its first ICBM since 2017 capable of hitting any part of the continental United States, while its western rival has focused on rising tensions with Russia amid the war in Ukraine
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks through a window during the test firing of a “new breed” of ICBMs launched on Thursday
With an estimated length of about 25 m, the Hwasong-17 is the North’s longest-range weapon and by some estimates the largest road-mobile ballistic missile system in the world
Pictures showed Kim Jong Un smiling and clapping as he celebrated with military officials from an observation deck during the Hwasong-17 test launch
This image released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows the test launch of a new type of ICBM.
That would put the entire US mainland within Kim’s reach, as well as Britain and all of continental Europe.
The Hwasong-17, estimated to be about 25 meters long, is the North’s longest-range weapon and by some estimates the largest road-mobile ballistic missile system in the world.
North Korea unveiled the missile at a military parade in October 2020, and Thursday’s launch marked its first full-scale test.
KCNA paraphrased Kim, saying the new weapon would alert “the whole world” to the North’s reinforced nuclear forces.
He vowed that his military was “acquiring impressive military and technical capabilities, undeterred by any military threat and blackmail, and fully prepared for a protracted confrontation with US imperialists.”
The United States called for tougher UN sanctions on North Korea on Friday after the test.
The United Nations Security Council is meeting Friday at the UN headquarters in Manhattan on North Korea’s test launch of an ICBM
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, addresses the United Nations Security Council Friday on North Korea’s test firing of an ICBM
At a UN Security Council meeting on Friday, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US would propose a resolution “to update and strengthen Security Council sanctions.” She declined to specify what these new measures might be.
“It is clear that remaining silent in the hope that the DPRK would also show restraint is a failed strategy,” she said. DPRK is an acronym for the country’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea.
The council originally imposed sanctions after the North’s first nuclear test blast in 2006 and has tightened them over the years.
But last fall, the veto power China and Russia demanded the lifting of various sanctions against their neighbor.
Russian Deputy Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva said further sanctions would only harm the North Korean people, while Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun called on the Council to “consider how to address DPRK’s legitimate security concerns”.
He pointed out that the US had not done enough to respond to the North’s self-imposed pause in 2018 in long-range missile and nuclear testing and that it needed to “show its goodwill” and “work harder to resolve the situation.” to stabilize” and resume dialogue.
North Korea did not speak at the council meeting. A message was sent to the UN mission requesting comment.
Meanwhile, the US imposed new sanctions of its own on five entities and individuals in Russia and North Korea for transferring sensitive items to the North’s missile program, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.