SEOUL (Reuters) -- Satellite imagery shows construction at North Korea’s nuclear testing site for the first time since it was closed in 2018, analysts said on Tuesday, as a U.S. intelligence report warned the country could resume major weapons tests this year.
Images captured by commercial satellite on Friday showed very early signs of activity at the Punggye-ri site, including construction of a new building, repair of another building, and what is possibly some lumber and sawdust, specialists at the California-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) said in a report.
“The construction and repair work indicate that North Korea has made some decision about the status of the test site,” the report said.
North Korea tested a record number of missiles in January, including its largest weapon since 2017, and appears to be preparing to launch a spy satellite.
International monitors have also reported the North’s main nuclear reactor facility at Yongbyon appears to be in full swing, potentially creating fuel for nuclear weapons.
North Korea’s missile launches could be groundwork for a return to intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and nuclear bomb tests this year, the U.S. Directorate of National Intelligence (DNI) said in its annual Worldwide Threat Assessment.
The report did not mention Punggye-ri but said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains strongly committed to expanding the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal.
Punggye-ri has been shuttered since North Korea declared a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons tests in 2018. Kim, however, has said he no longer feels bound by that moratorium with denuclearization talks stalled since 2019.
At the time, North Korea said it was closing the site’s tunnels with explosions, blocking its entrances, and removing all observation facilities, research buildings and security posts. It invited a handful of foreign media to observe the demolition, but refused to allow international inspectors, leading to speculation the facilities could be restored.
In South Korea, where voters will elect a new president on Wednesday, the National Security Council said on Sunday it was paying particularly close attention to Yongbyon and Punggye-ri, without elaborating.
The CNS analysts said the changes at Punggye-ri occurred only in the past few days, and it is still difficult to conclude what precisely is being built or why.
“One possibility is that North Korea plans to bring the test site back to a state of readiness to resume nuclear explosive testing,” the report said.
Punggye-ri is North Korea’s only known nuclear test site. It conducted six nuclear weapons tests in tunnels at the site from 2006 to 2017.