Kim Jong-un-led North Korea appears to be preparing for another nuclear test soon as the country expands work at its nuclear test site to include a second tunnel.
What Happened: A report citing commercial satellite imagery by the U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies said that the preparation work at North Korea's Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility's Tunnel No. 3 was apparently complete and ready for a possible nuclear test.
The think tank said, for the first time, its researchers spotted new construction activity at the facility's Tunnel No. 4, "strongly suggesting an effort to re-enable it for potential future testing."
It further added that images from outside Tunnel No. 3 showed a retaining wall and some minor landscaping with small trees or bushes, likely in anticipation of a visit by some senior officials.
Kim Jong-un previously conducted six underground nuclear tests at the Punggye-ri site from 2006 to 2017. Although these two tunnels were never previously used for nuclear tests, Kim demolished their entrances in 2018 after the secretive nation declared a self-imposed moratorium on testing nuclear weapons.
The U.S. and South Korean officials have warned that the Kim could be preparing to conduct nuclear tests any day. So far, the isolated Asian country has fired 18 rounds of missile tests in 2022 alone.
