High levels of activity at North Korea nuclear test site, says US watchdog

Satellite images appear to show equipment being assembled at site of four nuclear tests

(AFP/Getty)

High levels of activity have been detected around North Korea’s nuclear test site, according to satellite images obtained by an independent US watchdog.

The images appear to show supplies and equipment being stacked up at sections of the Punggye-ri test site in the north of the country, as well as mine carts possibly being transported through the site’s tunnels.

If such activity is taking place, it appears North Korea could be preparing its nuclear site for future tests, should the country’s chairman Kim Jong-un decide further tests are necessary.

However the commercial satellite photographs are of insufficient resolution to accurately determine the true purpose of the activity at present, according to reports.

The intelligence was obtained by the independent monitoring project 38 North, which is run by Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Baltimore, Maryland.

The watchdog’s report added: “It is likely that they [the workers at the site] are either engaged in spring maintenance or traveling to and from the test facility.”

Several separate groups of people and vehicles have been spotted on the south road leading into the facility, and the images show certain buildings may have been camouflaged.

Four nuclear tests have so far taken place at the Punggye-ri site - in 2006, 2009, 2013 and most recently in January this year.

The testing of a hydrogen bomb at the start of 2016 prompted international outcry, with Nato saying the test “undermined regional and international security, in clear breach of UN Security Council resolutions”.

On Monday, North Korea said it will end a diplomatic communication channel with the United States and hinted at harsher punishment for Americans detained in the country in retaliation for US sanctions targeting leader Kim Jong Un.

Heavy sanctions have previously been placed on North Korea due to its pursuit of a nuclear weapons programme, but this is the first time the country’s leader has actively faced punishment.

Last month, the International Atomic Energy agency said satellite imagery showed North Korea may have resumed work at a polonium plant in Yongbyon.