North Korean workers have already begun dismantling the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site in the northeastern part of the country ahead of a planned demolition ceremony in late May to be viewed by international observers, according to satellite imagery.
North Korea announced over the weekend that it would hold a ceremony to demolish tunnels leading into the site May 23-25, a move President Trump called “a very smart and gracious gesture.”
North Korea has announced that they will dismantle Nuclear Test Site this month, ahead of the big Summit Meeting on June 12th. Thank you, a very smart and gracious gesture!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2018
But experts working on behalf of the group 38 North who analyzed satellite photos said pictures taken April 30 and again on May 7 show work has already begun at the site, calling it “definitive evidence.”
“Several key operational support buildings, located just outside the North, West and South Portals, have been razed since our last analysis,” the site’s experts said. “Some of the rails for the mining carts, which had led from the tunnels to their respective spoil piles, have apparently been removed. Additionally, some carts seem to have been tipped over and/or disassembled, and several small sheds/outbuildings around the site had been removed.”
Recent commercial satellite imagery has provided definitive evidence that the #DPRK has begun dismantling the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Sitehttps://t.co/ILVR1hpmlw
— 38 North (@38NorthNK) May 14, 2018
The site noted that substantial buildings in the area remain, including a command center and administrative support buildings. It also said the tunnel entrances to the underground test facility remain open, speculating that officials were waiting until the late-May ceremony to demolish the entrances.
The official Korean Central News Agency said on May 12 that foreign journalists would witness workers “collapsing all of its tunnels with explosions, blocking its entrances, and removing all observation facilities, research buildings and security posts,” the site noted.
Chinese scientists have speculated that North Korea’s offer to destroy the test site is merely for show, saying the site is no longer useful after repeated tests have partially collapsed the site’s Mount Mantap. The site has seen five of the country’s past six nuclear tests.
