Reconstruction on old North Korean nuclear testing site revealed by satellite images

By: Braden Gerow, Opinion Editor, The Pawprint

Concerns that North Korea is going to resume major weapon testing have risen again after some satellite imagery showed signs of reconstruction. The images reveal a new building, and suspected lumber and sawdust, which would be used for further construction on the site. Specialists from the California-Based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies are the ones who suspect that there is lumber and sawdust pictured in the image. 

Additionally, international monitors have reported that Yongbyon, North Korea’s main nuclear reactor facility, appears to be fully operating once again, which is cause for concern regarding the possibility that it is creating fuel for nuclear weapons. 

The aforementioned testing site, Punggye-ri, has been closed since the self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapon tests in 2018. Kim Jong-Un now stated that he feels as though he is no longer bound by this moratorium considering the absence of denuclearization talks since 2019