SEOUL, South Korea North Korea appears to be preparing for its third underground nuclear test even as it presses ahead with assembling a long-range rocket for its planned launching of a satellite this month, a South Korean government spokesman said Sunday.
Unconfirmed South Korean news reports in the past two years have claimed that North Korea was digging new tunnels at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in Kilju, near the northeastern tip of the country, to follow up on two underground tests it conducted there in 2006 and 2009.
On Sunday, the government spokesman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he said he could not talk on the record on intelligence matters, said satellite images showed a growing pile of earth near the entrance of one tunnel, and government analysts said they considered it a potential sign of preparations for a test. A large amount of earth is needed to seal a tunnel before detonating a nuclear device inside.
The spokesman was confirming reports carried Sunday by the South Korean national news agency, Yonhap, and other national news outlets. The domestic news media reports were identical in their wording and details. South Korean television stations also carried satellite images showing the pile but did not reveal who had provided them.
The main opposition Democratic United Party accused the governments National Intelligence Service of leaking the information to the domestic news media ahead of Wednesdays parliamentary elections. Party officials said they suspected that the spy agency was trying to help the conservative governing party by emphasizing the Norths nuclear threat.
North Korea has been hinting at a possible nuclear test for a month, said Park Yong-jin, a spokesman for the opposition party. We wonder why the National Intelligence Service was highlighting this to the people and news media now, only three days before the election.
During a campaign speech on Sunday, Park Geun-hye, the leader of the governing New Frontier Party, sought to consolidate conservative support by mentioning the news reports about a possible North Korean nuclear test and the planned satellite launching.
The spy agency, which denies meddling in domestic politics, declined to comment on the oppositions claim.
North Koreas planned satellite launching, scheduled for sometime between Thursday and next Monday, had already deepened international tensions. The United States and its allies have warned that launching a missile would further isolate the North by prompting more severe enforcement of international sanctions.
North Korea has repeatedly signaled its determination to launch the satellite.
The South Korean government spokesman also confirmed that the latest satellite images showed all three stages of a rocket placed on the Norths launching pad. In a dispatch from the Tongchang-ri launching site, The Associated Press also confirmed that the rocket was in position. The A.P.s journalists were among the foreign reporters invited to observe the launching.
Last month, North Koreas Foreign Ministry warned Washington that the cancellation of promised food aid in retaliation for the launching would automatically kill a Feb. 29 deal in which North Korea agreed to a moratorium on uranium enrichment and long-range missile and nuclear tests.
North Koreas two previous nuclear tests involved plutonium devices. If the country attempts a third test, analysts have said, it may use a nuclear device fueled by highly enriched uranium. North Korea revealed an advanced, industrial-scale uranium enrichment plant in 2010, though it is unclear how much highly enriched uranium it has acquired.
North Korea says it has been planning its satellite launching for several years to coincide with national celebrations of the 100th birthday this year of Kim Il-sung, its revered national founder and the grandfather of its new leader, Kim Jong-un. But American officials say they believe that North Koreas satellite program is a cover for developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that might someday be able to deliver nuclear warheads.
North Korea conducted its two previous nuclear tests after the United Nations Security Council imposed more sanctions to punish it for a long-range missile test in 2006 and its Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite launching in 2009.
Many analysts have feared a repeat of the cycle of confrontation if North Korea launches a new satellite this month.
After the 2009 nuclear test, the Security Council adopted a resolution demanding that North Korea not launch any rockets using ballistic missile technology, like the one it now plans.
The Chinese foreign minister has told his Japanese and South Korean counterparts that Beijing is worried about the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Chinese state-run news agency, Xinhua, reported Sunday. The foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, held separate meetings with the envoys from Seoul and Tokyo in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo on Saturday.
Without specifically mentioning the planned North Korean launching, Xinhua said Mr. Yang had expressed concerns over the latest development on the Korean Peninsula. He was also quoted as urging all sides to keep calm and exercise restraint.
The United States, South Korea and Japan have been calling on China to become more aggressive in curbing provocative behavior by North Korea, which relies on the Chinese for aid and support.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/world/asia/south-koreans-suspect-that-north-plans-nuclear-test.html?_r=2&hp
Unconfirmed South Korean news reports in the past two years have claimed that North Korea was digging new tunnels at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in Kilju, near the northeastern tip of the country, to follow up on two underground tests it conducted there in 2006 and 2009.
On Sunday, the government spokesman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he said he could not talk on the record on intelligence matters, said satellite images showed a growing pile of earth near the entrance of one tunnel, and government analysts said they considered it a potential sign of preparations for a test. A large amount of earth is needed to seal a tunnel before detonating a nuclear device inside.
The spokesman was confirming reports carried Sunday by the South Korean national news agency, Yonhap, and other national news outlets. The domestic news media reports were identical in their wording and details. South Korean television stations also carried satellite images showing the pile but did not reveal who had provided them.
The main opposition Democratic United Party accused the governments National Intelligence Service of leaking the information to the domestic news media ahead of Wednesdays parliamentary elections. Party officials said they suspected that the spy agency was trying to help the conservative governing party by emphasizing the Norths nuclear threat.
North Korea has been hinting at a possible nuclear test for a month, said Park Yong-jin, a spokesman for the opposition party. We wonder why the National Intelligence Service was highlighting this to the people and news media now, only three days before the election.
During a campaign speech on Sunday, Park Geun-hye, the leader of the governing New Frontier Party, sought to consolidate conservative support by mentioning the news reports about a possible North Korean nuclear test and the planned satellite launching.
The spy agency, which denies meddling in domestic politics, declined to comment on the oppositions claim.
North Koreas planned satellite launching, scheduled for sometime between Thursday and next Monday, had already deepened international tensions. The United States and its allies have warned that launching a missile would further isolate the North by prompting more severe enforcement of international sanctions.
North Korea has repeatedly signaled its determination to launch the satellite.
The South Korean government spokesman also confirmed that the latest satellite images showed all three stages of a rocket placed on the Norths launching pad. In a dispatch from the Tongchang-ri launching site, The Associated Press also confirmed that the rocket was in position. The A.P.s journalists were among the foreign reporters invited to observe the launching.
Last month, North Koreas Foreign Ministry warned Washington that the cancellation of promised food aid in retaliation for the launching would automatically kill a Feb. 29 deal in which North Korea agreed to a moratorium on uranium enrichment and long-range missile and nuclear tests.
North Koreas two previous nuclear tests involved plutonium devices. If the country attempts a third test, analysts have said, it may use a nuclear device fueled by highly enriched uranium. North Korea revealed an advanced, industrial-scale uranium enrichment plant in 2010, though it is unclear how much highly enriched uranium it has acquired.
North Korea says it has been planning its satellite launching for several years to coincide with national celebrations of the 100th birthday this year of Kim Il-sung, its revered national founder and the grandfather of its new leader, Kim Jong-un. But American officials say they believe that North Koreas satellite program is a cover for developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that might someday be able to deliver nuclear warheads.
North Korea conducted its two previous nuclear tests after the United Nations Security Council imposed more sanctions to punish it for a long-range missile test in 2006 and its Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite launching in 2009.
Many analysts have feared a repeat of the cycle of confrontation if North Korea launches a new satellite this month.
After the 2009 nuclear test, the Security Council adopted a resolution demanding that North Korea not launch any rockets using ballistic missile technology, like the one it now plans.
The Chinese foreign minister has told his Japanese and South Korean counterparts that Beijing is worried about the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Chinese state-run news agency, Xinhua, reported Sunday. The foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, held separate meetings with the envoys from Seoul and Tokyo in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo on Saturday.
Without specifically mentioning the planned North Korean launching, Xinhua said Mr. Yang had expressed concerns over the latest development on the Korean Peninsula. He was also quoted as urging all sides to keep calm and exercise restraint.
The United States, South Korea and Japan have been calling on China to become more aggressive in curbing provocative behavior by North Korea, which relies on the Chinese for aid and support.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/world/asia/south-koreans-suspect-that-north-plans-nuclear-test.html?_r=2&hp
