There are increasing signs that North Korea could soon test a nuclear weapon for the first time since 2017 in a bid to improve its arsenal and increase political pressure, U.S. and South Korean officials and analysts said.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that there were indications, including activity near the Punggye-ri nuclear site, that Pyongyang may be preparing for some sort of test, though an exact timing was unclear.
Analysts say that more testing could help North Korea reach its stated goals of making smaller nuclear warheads and improving their reliability. On Thursday State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington remains open to talks, but that continued provocations by North Korea would incur additional responses from the international community.North Korea has conducted all six of its nuclear tests in deep tunnels dug under the mountains at Punngye-ri. In 2018 it used explosives to close old entrances in front of invited foreign media but not international experts, raising questions about the extent of the demolition.
Although some South Korean media reports suggested that workers were building "shortcuts" to connect with the test tunnels as quickly as possible, it seems more likely they were trying to excavate into a stable point rather than digging through the fractured rock around the former entrance, 38 North said.
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