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Following the missile launch every three days, an analysis came out that North Korea's nuclear test was imminent.

In particular, the United States predicted that preparations for a nuclear test could be completed within this month.

This month sounds sensitive because President Biden will visit Korea on the 20th.



This is Washington correspondent Yunsu Kim.



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This is a satellite image of North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site taken on the 4th.



The bridge on the way to the command post, which had collapsed in the flood last year, has been restored, and a cargo truck parked in front of the command post building for the first time since the restoration of the nuclear test site was caught.



38 North, an American media outlet specializing in North Korea that released these photos, analyzed that North Korea seems to have long-term plans for a nuclear test site.



The U.S. State Department has predicted that preparations for a seventh nuclear test will be completed by the end of this month.



[Jelina Porter/Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department: The US estimates that North Korea is restoring the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, and that preparations for a nuclear test can be completed within this month at the earliest.]



The US State Department also visited President Biden in Korea and Japan this month He said this will be a major issue on the agenda.



North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test shortly after former President Barack Obama returned from attending the ASEAN Security Summit held in Laos in September 2016.



CNN noted the possibility of North Korea's nuclear protests coincident with President Biden's first Asian tour.



In response to the growing nuclear warning, the United States tightened the reins of sanctions against North Korea by adding to the sanctions list companies that helped launder virtual currency stolen by North Korea.



If North Korea conducts a nuclear test before and after the inauguration of a new South Korean government and the Korea-US summit, finding a diplomatic solution to the North Korean nuclear issue seems unlikely for a while.



(Video coverage: Park Eun-ha, Video editing: Kim Jin-won)