NK inches closer to testing nukes

North Korea might have dispatched a fresh batch of devices needed to initiate a nuclear test and analyze data from the explosion, a US think tank said Wednesday, fueling speculation that the communist regime has inched closer to conducting another nuclear test.

Analysis of commercial satellite imagery at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site by 38 North, a blog run by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, showed three to four vehicles or trailers at the entrance to the North Portal, where the communist state carried out four rounds of nuclear tests.

The 38 North blog also suggested that communication cables had been recently laid on the ground and that water had been drained at the entrance to the underground site, a measure to keep the tunnel dry for monitoring or communication equipment.

“The combination of these factors strongly suggests that test preparations are well underway, including the installation of instrumentation,” said the US-based think tank.

Apart from several mining carts at the West Portal, there was no significant nuclear activity at the other area of the Punggye-ri test site, the website added, arguing that the lack of activity may mean that test preparations are in their final stages.

The website, however, cautioned that such indications may be part of an effort to deceive international observers monitoring the reclusive regime’s activity, adding that their imagery “does not provide any definitive evidence of either a nuclear device or the timing of a test.”

The South Korean government, in response, said North Korea is “all set” to carry out its sixth nuclear test when it receives word from leader Kim Jong-un, whose private airplane was spotted at an airfield near the Punggye-ri test site by a military satellite, according to intelligence officials.

“Our assessment is that the North is ready to conduct the nuclear test when they get the go-ahead from Kim Jong-un,” said Lee Duck-haeng, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Unification during a regular press briefing Wednesday.

Some nuclear experts here forecast that North Korea would carry out enhanced version of nuclear tests by using a boosted fission weapon, a method designed to increase the explosion rate, or detonating multiple nuclear bombs simultaneously, similar to tests conducted by Pakistan.

In 1998, the Pakistan government conducted nuclear tests three times on May 28 and May 30. At the time, nuclear analysts suggested the simultaneous tests were designed to collect massive data about a nuclear explosion.

“Considering the fact that North Korea claimed to have completed the miniaturization of a nuclear weapon, they are likely to conduct a more enhanced nuclear test using boosted fission weapon,” said Lee Chun-geun, a researcher at the Science and Technology Policy Institute.

Confronted with North Korea’s escalating nuclear and missile threat, The US State Department on Wednesday urged Pyongyang to exercise restraint, warning that the regime’s defiant move would be met with “significant consequences.”

“We call on the DPRK (North Korea) to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric that threaten international peace and stability, and to make the strategic choice to fulfill its international obligations and commitments and return to serious talks,” said Katina Adams, a spokeswoman for the State Department.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)