N.Korea may be preparing nuclear test
(Reuters/ABCnews)
Updated: 2006-08-18 10:22
WASHINGTON - Activity at a North Korean facility suggests Pyongyang could be
preparing its first test of a nuclear bomb, U.S. media on Thursday cited U.S.
officials as saying.
But U.S. officials said they had no new evidence of
such a plan, and a diplomatic official in Seoul familiar with the North's
nuclear program said he was skeptical of the reports.
North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il (2nd L) poses for a picture with the family of farm manager
Yun Ho-jung (L) during an inspection of a stock-breeding centre of the
Korean People's Army unit 757, in an unspecified location in North Korea,
in this undated photo released by Korea News Service in Tokyo August 14,
2006. [Reuters] |
ABC News quoted an
unidentified senior military official as saying a U.S. intelligence agency had
observed "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected North Korean test site.
A senior State Department official, who was also not identified, told
the network, "It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real
possibility."
CNN reported U.S. military sources said satellite images
had shown wire bundles appearing at a suspected test site that could be used to
monitor an underground test. It said the wires had not been connected to
anything and that it was still unclear if a test was being prepared.
Asked about the media reports, a senior U.S. official told Reuters, "We
have no new evidence to support that." Another official, who also declined to be
identified, said there was no indication of a threat in the near term.
State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos declined to comment on
intelligence matters.
South Korean government officials had no comment
on the report and the diplomatic source in Seoul said he was not aware of a new
intelligence report.
"I was not aware of the area mentioned in the
report as being a possible site for a North Korean nuclear test," the source
said.
ABC said the suspected test site was an underground facility
called Pungyee-yok in northeast North Korea. The intelligence was brought to the
attention of the White House last week, its report said.
The activity
includes the unloading of large reels of cable outside Punggye-yok. Cables can
be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside
observation equipment.
Even before this most recent intelligence, there has been growing concern
within the U.S. government that North Korea has been moving toward a nuclear
test. North Korea is believed to have enough nuclear material to build as many
as a dozen nuclear bombs, but it has never tested one. A successful test would
remove any doubt that North Korea is a nuclear power.
"What does he have to lose?" asked one senior military official, referring to
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
On July 4, North Korea conducted seven ballistic missile tests, which
provoked international condemnation, including a unanimous United States
Security Council resolution condemning its actions. A nuclear test, however,
would be seen as a much greater provocation than the missile tests. Only seven
other nations in the world have ever conducted nuclear tests.
U.S. officials fear a nuclear test could provoke a nuclear arms race in East
Asia, forcing Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear weapons.
"A nuclear test is going to be alarming and troubling for everyone and would
cause a very strong reaction I think from all of North Korea's neighbors," said
former National Security Council official Michael Green, now with the Center for
Strategic and International Studies.
U.S. officials caution that the intelligence is not conclusive. Last year
U.S. spy satellites picked up suspicious activity at suspected test sites in
North Korea, leading some to predict an imminent nuclear test, but nothing
happened.
Underground nuclear tests are notoriously difficult to
detect ahead of time. U.S. intelligence agencies, for example, failed to predict
nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998.
Officials say it is possible that North Korea may either be putting on a show
for American spy satellites to get attention, or may conduct a nuclear test in
an entirely different location.
"It is the view of most in the community that there is a 50-50 chance North
Korea will conduct a nuclear test by the end of the year," said one
analyst.
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