South Korean officials believe North Korea may be planning another missile launch or nuclear test after they detected “active movement” around the North’s missile research facility, just days before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to visit Seoul.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) suggested to government lawmakers Thursday that North Korea could be working towards replacing spent fuel rods at some point this year and the agency had already detected activity around the missile research facility in Pyongyang, Yonhap news agency reported.
“There is a possibility of a new missile launch given the active movement of vehicles around the missile research institute in Pyongyang. The North will constantly push for further nuclear tests going forward, and the miniaturization and diversification of warheads,” the NIS was quoted as saying.
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Kim Jong Un and his regime conducted the North’s sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3 and hasn’t launched a missile since lobbing one over Japan on Sept. 15.
According to the South Korean news agency, NIS said a tunnel at North Korea’s mountainous nuclear site was primed for another test “at any time” but also noted the possibility of damage at the Punggye-ri test site.
According to Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi, up to 200 people were killed when a tunnel at the North’s nuclear test site had collapsed in the days following the Sept. 3 test of an apparent hydrogen bomb.
A spokesperson for South Korea’s unification ministry told Agence France-Presse they had no information on the reported tunnel collapse.
“We are aware of the report but do not know anything about it,” the spokesperson said.
On Thursday, North Korea denied the report calling it “misinformation” intended to slander the country and its nuclear program.
Experts had said the detonation caused several landslides at the country’s only known test site.
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South Korea’s warning comes just days before Trump is set to arrive in Seoul where North Korea’s nuclear ambitions will dominate talks.
Also on Thursday, while visiting the heavily fortified demilitarized zone on the Korean border, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that war with North Korea would be “catastrophic.”
“The alternative to sanctions and pressures, is either do nothing which is absolutely irresponsible – or military means,” Stoltenberg said. “I think we all understand that war (on the Korean Peninsula) will be catastrophic and extremely dangerous not only for the people living in the region but also global peace and security.”
Stoltenberg suggested sanctions against the North might motivate the country to talk.
“The focus now is on how can we put pressure on North Korea to induce them to engage in real constructive talks,” he said. “And we have seen some movements in the right direction by fact that the UN has agreed additional sanctions – they did so in September and we have seen that sanctions are now more implemented by more nations than we have seen before.”
—with a file from Reuters