Satellite images show activity at North Korean nuclear site
Source: AP
By KIM TONG-HYUNG and JON GAMBRELL
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Commercial satellite images suggest a resumption of construction activity at North Korea’s nuclear testing ground nearly four years after leader Kim Jong Un declared the site’s closure and invited foreign journalists to observe the destruction of tunnels ahead of his first summit with then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Analysts say it’s unclear how long it would take North Korea to restore the site for nuclear detonations if it intends to do so. The site in Punggye-ri in the country’s northeast was used for its sixth and last nuclear test in 2017.
The sighting of construction activity at the site comes amid a deepening diplomatic freeze since the collapse of the second Kim-Trump meeting in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.
North Korea has used the pause in talks to further expand its military capabilities, including nine rounds of missile launches in 2022 alone. The unusually fast pace indicates an intent to pressure the Biden administration, which has offered open-ended talks but shown no willingness to concede on sanctions.
FILE - South Korean Navy's patrol ships search for survivors from the sunken South Korean navy ship near South Korea's Baekryeong island, March 29, 2010. South Korea said Tuesday, March 8, 2022, it fired warning shots at a North Korean patrol boat that temporarily crossed the countries' disputed western sea boundary while chasing an unarmed North Korean vessel. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/seoul-south-korea-north-korea-95ff1c53c7a50ed5df90b61333655f19
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