Construction spotted at North Korea nuclear test site for first time since 2018

Satellite images show ‘preliminary’ construction at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site

People watch a TV broadcasting file footage of a news report on North Korea firing what appeared to be a ballistic missile, in Seoul (Reuters)

North Korea has allegedly begun construction at a nuclear testing site for the first time since it was shut in 2018, according to analysis of satellite imagery.

Images captured by satellite imaging firm Maxar Technologies on Friday showed traces of “preliminary” construction at the Punggye-ri site, which was closed and partly dismantled after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to halt all nuclear tests.

The early signs of activity include construction of a new building, repair of another building, and possibly some lumber and sawdust, according to a report by specialists at the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).

The report said: “Construction and repair work indicate that North Korea has made some decision about the status of the test site,” amid fears of the country resuming major weapons tests this year.

Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has tested nine missiles, drawing severe condemnation from the US as well as its neighbours South Korea and Japan.

The country has carried out a record number of missile launches since January this year, after threatening to abandon a self-imposed moratorium on testing long-range missiles. It resumed testing its military capabilities on 27 February.

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), in its annual Worldwide Threat Assessment, warned that the country’s missile launches could be the groundwork for a return to intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear bomb tests this year.

Although the report did not mention Punggye-ri, it claimed Mr Kim remains strongly committed to expanding the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal after denuclearisation talks stalled in 2019.

“One possibility is that North Korea plans to bring the test site back to a state of readiness to resume nuclear explosive testing,” the CNS report said. However, it cautioned that the test site is perhaps years away from being ready for new nuclear tests.

“How long it would take North Korea to resume explosive testing at the site depends on the extent of the damage to the tunnels themselves, something we do not know with confidence. It is also possible that North Korea will resume nuclear testing at another location,” the report pointed out.

Punggye-ri is the country’s only known test site, where six nuclear weapons tests were conducted in tunnels between 2006 and 2017.

Meanwhile, the US and 10 other countries on Monday condemned North Korea’s repeated missile launches this year.

“Each ballistic missile launch that results in inaction by the council erodes the credibility of the UN Security Council itself in addressing [North Korea] and undermines the global non-proliferation regime,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US envoy to the UN, said while reading out a joint statement following a closed UN Security Council briefing.

The statement called on all the 15 members of the Security Council to speak with one voice in “condemning these dangerous and unlawful acts”.

Reports of the activity come after it emerged that neighbour South Korea had fired a warning shot at a North Korean patrol vessel that crossed the maritime border between the two Koreas at around 9.30am (00.30 GMT) on Tuesday.