New satellite imagery of North Korea, captured by Planet Labs and analyzed by experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies have revealed an active facility in the village of Wollo-ri near Pyongyang . Experts suspect that this facility is being used to build nuclear warheads.
As per the experts, the area has all the signatures of a North Korean nuclear facility— the security perimeter, on site housing, monuments to unpublicized leadership visits and an underground facility. Also, the factory is very active and the activity has never slowed down and is still making nuclear weapons.
CNN reported that the facility was identified in 2015 by researchers at James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, but Lewis and his fellow researchers chose not to publicise it, as its role in North Korea’s nuclear program was not clear. Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled, with the two sides wide apart on the scope of North Korea’s denuclearization and sanctions relief from the US, said the Yonhap News Agency report.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Defence Ministry refused to confirm the CNN report but said it was “closely monitoring related activities in close coordination with the US intelligence authorities”.
