The United States is examining North Korea‘s preparations for its Punggye-ri testing ground and may be ready to test there earlier this month, Deputy State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter said Friday. North Korea has recently intensified its weapons test and re-launched the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launched this year for the first time since 2017.
It has not detected a nuclear bomb since 2017, but U.S. and South Korean officials have been saying for weeks that there are signs of a new construction in Punggye-ri, a nuclear test site in North Korea only, and that Pyongyang could detonate another bomb soon. Punggye-ri has been officially closed since 2018 and Porter’s statement that the site may be ready this month was very clear at the time of the possible inspection and was the first such statement on record from a major American.
“The United States is examining whether the DPRK is preparing for its Punggye-ri test site and may be ready to conduct a test earlier this month, which could be its seventh test,” he told a news conference with North Korea at the beginning of its official name. This review is in line with the latest DPRK public statements. We have shared this information with our partners and colleagues and will continue to communicate closely with them, ”said Porter.
He added that the United States would build on this partnership when President Joe Biden travels to South Korea and Japan from May 20-24. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to accelerate the development of nuclear weapons while overseeing a major military demonstration as negotiations to end nuclear war with the United States stalled. He said the main purpose of the Northern nuclear power was to prevent, but that its use “could not be limited to a single purpose.”
Earlier on Friday the United States imposed sanctions on a virtual currency mixer, Blender, accusing it of engaging in a major cryptocurrency robbery that was recorded and used by North Korea to raise money for its weapons programs.
