North Korea appears to have been digging two new tunnels at a nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, North Hamgyong Province since May, sparking fears that it is preparing for another nuclear test.Specialist website 38 North, which is run by Johns Hopkins University, said it discovered two new tunnel entrances and a mound of earth while analyzing satellite pictures of the test site taken on Wednesday. The images also show that a management/surveillance building was built near the test site and the nearby ground leveled. 38 North expects the tunneling work to take about a year.
Prof. Nam Sung-wook of Korea University said, "It seems that the North is using the Punggye-ri test site as a means to pressure the U.S. into coming to the dialogue table."
But a South Korean military source denied that there are signs that the North is preparing for another nuclear test.