Intelligence bodies try to hone in on next possible test site
Before North Korea’s alleged nuclear test on October 9, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had first pointed to Mt. Mantap at Punggye-ri, Gilju-gun, as the likely site of any test. Howver, on the morning of October 9, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KISMR) instead honed in on Musudan-ri after detecting a seismic wave. To ascertain the exact site, further analysis will have to be done, said the NIS. Additionally, several nuclear tests are usually done in a short period, so it is possible that North Korea has already finished preparation for additional tests, experts noted. As strange activity was detected at Punggye-ri, Gilju, North Hamgyeong Province since the afternoon following the test, the NIS is reportedly closely monitoring the situation there. Kim Seung-kyu, director of the NIS, reportedly said to the National Assembly's intelligence committee, "At Punggye-ri, as strange signs such as movements of persons and vehicles have been detected beginning at 3 p.m. on October 9, we are carefully trying to ascertain the situation."North Korea's moves toward conducting a nuclear test were first observed in the Gilju area in the summer of 2004. Since the end of the 1990s, North Korea has built underground tunnels there, and intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States have kept close watch. On February 10, 2005, North Korea declared that it owned nuclear weapons, and since April that year, U.S. spy satellites have detected signs that the North was proceeding in earnest with preparations for a nuclear test. Tunnels for such tests are specially built to endure the power of a nuclear blast. Intelligence satellites had detected construction of such tunnels, according to a report in the New York Times May last year. Only a few tunnels of a particular depth and in an area with specific geographical features are needed to conduct a nuclear test, experts say. An intelligence official of Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said to the National Assembly on May 4 that the JCS was monitoring a few suspect sites where nuclear tests could be performed. At that time, the JCS could not observe the presence any electronic equipment, which is essential for the observation of nuclear tests. However, satellites detected the unloading of a long electric cable at Punggye-ri at the beginning of August, and at that time experts suspected that North Korea had already completed preparation for a nuclear test.
