North Korea must blow up, not shut down, test site to prove it’s scrapping nukes, says South Korean scientist
Foreign press invited to the Punggye-ri test site this week to witness its dismantlement amid Pyongyang’s pledges to end its nuclear weapons programme
North Korea must blow up its Punggye-ri nuclear test site rather than merely shutting it down to prove its commitment to get rid of its nuclear weapons, according to a senior South Korean scientist.
There are four tunnels at the site, with two unused, meaning North Korea could use the facility for nuclear tests if they were not all destroyed, according to Lee Chun-geun, a senior research fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Institute in Sejong.
“If only the entrance is blown up, it would be classified as a closure and the site may be used again later if Pyongyang decides to proceed with additional nuclear tests,” Lee said.
The site must be packed internally with explosives and all tunnels destroyed to ensure the facility can not be reopened, he said.
“If the explosions are inside – especially in the unused western and southern tunnels – you can then call this a dismantlement as North Korea won’t be able to reuse the venue again even if they change their minds in future,” he added.