Commercial satellite imagery shows no signs of preparations for a nuclear blast at North Korea’s underground test site, the website 38 North said Friday.
“As a result, a fourth nuclear test seems unlikely in the near-term, for at least the next two to three months,” the website said. “However, it is quite possible that one or more tunnels at the facility are sufficiently complete to be readied for another nuclear test should Pyongyang make the political decision to move forward.”
The North has so far conducted three nuclear tests at the Punggye-ri site in its northeast, in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
Early this month, the North offered to temporarily suspend nuclear tests if the U.S. were to scrap joint military exercises in South Korea. The U.S. immediately rejected the proposal as an “implicit threat,” and urged Pyongyang to honor its denuclearization commitments.
In November, Pyongyang threatened to conduct a nuclear test after the Third Committee of the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution that called for referring the North to the International Criminal Court for human rights violations. (Yonhap)
