North Korea Shows Signs of Punggye-ri Tunnel Restoration... Also Begins Dismantling Facilities in Geumgangsan

The scene of North Korea blowing up the tunnel at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in May 2018.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] It has been reported that North Korea is showing signs of attempting to restore parts of the tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province, which had previously been demolished. There are also indications that some demolition of South Korean facilities in Mount Kumgang has been partially carried out.

According to government and military sources on the 11th, North Korea is believed to have recently begun partially restoring the tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. The Punggye-ri nuclear test site was proactively demolished by North Korea in May 2018 in front of foreign journalists. Until now, only signs of new buildings being constructed and existing buildings being repaired had been detected at the site, but this is the first time it has been confirmed that tunnel restoration efforts are underway.

At that time, North Korea demolished tunnels 2, 3, and 4. Tunnel 1 was not demolished because, according to North Korea, it had already collapsed significantly and was removed after the first nuclear test in 2006. North Korea’s first nuclear test was conducted in tunnel 1, while tests 2 through 6 were conducted in tunnel 2. It is currently estimated that tunnels 3 and 4 are being restored. Military authorities believe that tunnels 3 and 4 could be refurbished and reused depending on the situation.

Additionally, it has been reported that North Korea has begun demolishing some South Korean facilities in Mount Kumgang. North Korea showed signs of intending to start demolition after October 2019. However, when the COVID-19 situation arose, North Korea notified South Korea in January 2020 that demolition would be postponed for that reason. Recently, demolition work has begun without any consultation or notification.

Meanwhile, at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, signs of operation at the 5MW reactor, reprocessing facilities, and highly enriched uranium (HEU) production facilities have continuously been detected by South Korean and U.S. intelligence surveillance. In addition, construction activity has been reported at the West Sea Satellite Launching Station in Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.