A satellite image purportedly shows a North Korean nuclear test site CREDIT: EPA/AIRBUS / 38 NORTH / HANDOUT
The dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in May might have been little more than a show.
In a move widely perceived as a concrete gesture of goodwill, North Korea demolished the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the presence of a few dozen foreign journalists, but no experts or international investigators. The North detonated explosives inside the tunnels, supposedly disabling the test site, but U.S. intelligence officials told CNN the blasts were not strong enough to completely collapse the tunnels.
“The explosions seem to have been too small” to have truly destroyed the test site, an international arms control official explained to reporters, “The fact that journalists were reportedly only around 500 meters from the explosions is a good indication that these were small blasts. And the amount of dust leads us to believe that they were quite superficial.” This assessment is reportedly based off of relevant seismic data. MORE
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