DigitalGlobe | 38 North | Getty Images
Satellite imagery of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea on Mar. 25, 2017.
Satellite imagery of North Korea‘s main nuclear test site taken over the weekend indicates that Pyongyang could be in the final stages of preparations for a sixth nuclear test, a U.S. think tank reported on Tuesday.
Washington-based 38 North, a website that monitors North Korea, said the images from Saturday showed the continued presence of vehicles and trailers at the Punggye-ri test site and signs that communications cables may have been laid to a test tunnel.
Water was also being pumped out and was draining downhill “presumably to keep the tunnel dry for monitoring or communications equipment,” it said.
“The combination of these factors strongly suggests that test preparations are well under way, including the installation of instrumentation. The imagery, however, does not provide any definitive evidence of either a nuclear device or the timing of a test.”
