North Korea is ready to conduct another nuclear test just three days after carrying out its fifth nuclear test, South Korean intelligence officials said Monday.
Pyongyang tested a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb Thursday at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, sparking outrage and criticism from world leaders and international organizations throughout the Asia Pacific. While reports indicate that the most recent test involved a 10-kiloton bomb, some experts suggest that the seismic activity caused by the blast points to a higher yield of 20 to 30 kilotons, making it more devastating than the atomic bomb that killed 150,000 people in Hiroshima.
New reports indicate that North Korea could be preparing for a sixth test.
“North Korea appears to be fully ready to carry out a nuclear test at its Punggye-ri test site on short notice. We are closely watching for any moves indicating another test,” an unknown South Korean official told the Yonhap News Agency.
“The South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities assess that the North is always prepared for an additional nuclear test,” said South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-Gyun Monday in an interview with The Korea Times.
There are three tunnels at the Punggye-ri test site. All previous tests have taken place in the first two tunnels. The 2006 test was carried out in the first tunnel, and the latter four tests were conducted in the second tunnel. “Should the North detonate another nuclear device, it is highly expected to use the unused tunnel,” an unnamed source told The Korea Times.
That Pyongyang has completed construction work on the third tunnel, where a nuclear test has yet to be conducted, indicates that a six nuclear test may be on its way. The South Korean president believes that this is an “imminent threat.”
South Korean President Park Geun-hye warned Monday that North Korean provocations could spark a war on the Korean peninsula. “North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are not a simple warning for negotiations but a realistic and imminent threat targeting us. It has warned of additional provocations, raising the risk of war on the Korean peninsula, terrorist attacks or localized confrontation,” The Korea Times reported, quoting Park.
Pyongyang reportedly standardized and customized nuclear warheads for installation on ballistic missiles; however, these reports have yet to be officially verified.
In response to North Korean provocations, the United Nations is considering new sanctions, and the U.S. is deploying supersonic B-1B bombers to South Korea, reports Reuters.
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