▲ The international reporters' coverage before the bombing of Tunnel 4 in Punggye-ri in 2018
As North Korea accelerates the restoration of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, the military and intelligence agencies are known to be judging that a seventh nuclear test will be possible next month.
According to a military source, North Korea is excavating a new passageway to the inside of the tunnel to restore the nuclear test site Tunnel 3 in Punggye-ri, Gilju-gun, North Hamgyong Province, which was blown up four years ago in a short period of time.
There are four main tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, and the 3rd tunnel has never been tested before.
At first, the situation of restoring the collapsed entrance was caught, but it has recently been stopped and it is known that they are drilling a new passage into the tunnel.
A government source said, "It is expected that recovery will be possible within a month."
Tunnel 3 is a double structure that splits into two tunnels when you enter it.
At that time, it is known that about 100m was blown up from the entrance to just before it split into a double fork.
In May 2018, North Korea invited foreign media from five countries, including South Korea and the United States, to blow up the entrance to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
At that time, the entrances to each of the tunnels 2 to 4 were blown up, except for the first tunnel, which was already closed because it was contaminated by the first nuclear test.
If North Korea conducts a nuclear test, it will be the seventh nuclear test in history.
The military and intelligence authorities are paying attention to the possibility of an explosive test for the development of a small tactical nuclear weapon with a scale of several tens of kilotons (kt·1kt is the explosive power of 1,000t TNT) that is mounted on medium- and short-range ballistic missiles.
(Photo=Photo Foundation, Yonhap News)