North Korea is showing signs of resuming work for a third nuclear test a week after it threatened to conduct one in response to strengthened United Nations sanctions.
Activities monitored at the Punggye-ri nuclear site, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) northeast of Pyongyang, show the totalitarian state is in the “final stages of preparation for a nuclear test,” Yonhap News reported, citing a government official in South Korea.
The nation conducted atomic tests in 2006 and 2009 at the site, and the entrance to one of the the testing ground’s tunnels was covered, according to an earlier Yonhap News report citing an unidentified intelligence source.
The signs of a possible test comes as the international community increases pressure on North Korea to deter the nation from conducting another nuclear experiment.
The UN last month strengthened sanctions against the country, and the U.S. and South Korea will hold a naval exercise next week off the Korean peninsula, Yonhap News reported.
North Korea today accused the U.S. of a double standard and said it would face the “toughest retaliation” for criticizing North Korea’s rocket launch while supporting one by South Korea, the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The UN Security Council on Jan. 22 tightened sanctions against North Korea after the nation launched a rocket last month. North Korea threatened to conduct a nuclear test “of higher level” in response, according to a statement carried by KCNA on Jan. 24.
The U.S and South Korea will hold a naval exercise from Feb. 4 to Feb. 6 in waters east of the Korean peninsula, Yonhap News reported today. South Korea last week launched a rocket which put the nation’s first satellite into orbit.
Violate Resolutions
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon yesterday said the chairman of the Security Council needs to work closely with other council members to make sure North Korea does not violate the council’s resolutions by conducting a nuclear test, Yonhap News reported.
The UN agency that detects and reports on nuclear-weapon explosions said on Jan. 29 that it is prepared for a test and can verify a successful North Korean atomic explosion the day it occurs, Annika Thunborg, a spokeswoman for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, told journalists on Jan. 29.
bloomberg.com
Activities monitored at the Punggye-ri nuclear site, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) northeast of Pyongyang, show the totalitarian state is in the “final stages of preparation for a nuclear test,” Yonhap News reported, citing a government official in South Korea.
The nation conducted atomic tests in 2006 and 2009 at the site, and the entrance to one of the the testing ground’s tunnels was covered, according to an earlier Yonhap News report citing an unidentified intelligence source.
The signs of a possible test comes as the international community increases pressure on North Korea to deter the nation from conducting another nuclear experiment.
The UN last month strengthened sanctions against the country, and the U.S. and South Korea will hold a naval exercise next week off the Korean peninsula, Yonhap News reported.
North Korea today accused the U.S. of a double standard and said it would face the “toughest retaliation” for criticizing North Korea’s rocket launch while supporting one by South Korea, the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The UN Security Council on Jan. 22 tightened sanctions against North Korea after the nation launched a rocket last month. North Korea threatened to conduct a nuclear test “of higher level” in response, according to a statement carried by KCNA on Jan. 24.
The U.S and South Korea will hold a naval exercise from Feb. 4 to Feb. 6 in waters east of the Korean peninsula, Yonhap News reported today. South Korea last week launched a rocket which put the nation’s first satellite into orbit.
Violate Resolutions
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon yesterday said the chairman of the Security Council needs to work closely with other council members to make sure North Korea does not violate the council’s resolutions by conducting a nuclear test, Yonhap News reported.
The UN agency that detects and reports on nuclear-weapon explosions said on Jan. 29 that it is prepared for a test and can verify a successful North Korean atomic explosion the day it occurs, Annika Thunborg, a spokeswoman for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, told journalists on Jan. 29.
bloomberg.com
No comments:
Post a Comment