Extent of destruction to shut down nuclear test site remains unclear, 38 North

By Lim Chang-won Posted : December 13, 2018, 09:00 Updated : December 13, 2018, 09:00

[Joint Press Corps.]


SEOUL -- North Korea should allow inspectors to visit all key areas in its nuclear test site with detailed layout maps and equipment, 38 North, the website of a U.S. research institute, said, suggesting the extent of destruction to shut down the site remains "unclear."

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claimed to have shut down underground tunnels in Punggye-ri near the border with China as the first step toward complete denuclearization. But 38 North insisted the site could be reopened, or new tunnels could be excavated nearby "should Pyongyang decide to resume testing."

"There are no guarantees that North Korea would not resume testing at Punggye-ri or other locations if the current thawing of the political atmosphere ends," experts said in an article published by 38 North. "They likely did not irreparably alter the integrity of geology in the adjacent mountains to the south and west where other test tunnels have been excavated."

Satellite imagery from late November showed that two large buildings at the command center remain intact, suggesting the site may only be mothballed, with reactivation possible, said 38 North.

Two-dozen people were visible in a southern support area, providing additional evidence that the test site has not been fully abandoned, it said. "The roads throughout the area remain well maintained, and vehicle tracking has been evident on the main road leading to the test area where patchy snow was present."

"While it appears the tunnel portals were explosively closed, the areas extending beyond the portals could have remained largely intact," 38 North said, calling for the use of heavy equipment like a mobile horizontal or vertical drill rig to verify just how far back a tunnel has or has not been collapsed.

A successful inspection would become an initial model for cooperation for future inspections to help verify agreements covering North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, it said.

38 North urged Pyongyang to provide detailed tunnel layout maps, allow inspectors to visit all key areas in Punggye-ri and establish a full site baseline that would involve various site surveys to determine the geological, geophysical and hydrological settings for improved site characterization, surface mapping to establish the full extent of previous test-induced surface effects along with environmental sampling.

"Such a baseline would make it easier to assess the source and extent of any changes detected during future site monitoring," the website said, adding North Korea should also hand over diagnostics and instrumentation equipment used at the site and allow inspectors to install on-site instrumentation like seismic, acoustic/infrasound and radiological sensors.
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