On Wednesday, South Korean news outlets reported that a sixth nuclear test by North Korea is imminent, and could take place as early as next week.
An unnamed source within the South Korean military told Korea Joongang Daily, “We have intelligence that North Korea may conduct its sixth nuclear test in the first week of April and are in the process of confirming this…We have determined that North Korea is expected to finish all preparations for a nuclear test by March 31.”
Speculation has been swirling about North Korea’s possible plans to conduct another nuclear test as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to meet US President Donald Trump at the billionaire’s Palm Beach, Florida, resort Mar-A-Lago in early April.
Lending credence to the rumblings were satellite images recently released by North Korean watchdog site 38 North indicating that excavation activities had picked up near North Korea’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site.The presence of equipment trailers and possibly communications cables indicate an upcoming test, but the images themselves are not definitive.
