(LEAD) N. Korean nuclear test may be imminent: 38 North

(ATTN: UPDATES with State Department comments)

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Yonhap) -- Fresh satellite imagery suggests North Korea has laid communication cables at its nuclear test site in a strong indication that test preparations are in the final stage, a website monitoring the communist nation said Tuesday.

Commercial satellite imagery taken on March 25 of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site shows the continued presence of three to four vehicles or equipment trailers at the entrance to the North Portal and the texture of the ground suggests that communications cables may have been laid, 38 North said.

Such equipment would likely be used to initiate the test, collect data from the explosion and process the data, it said, adding that water is also being pumped out of the portal and draining downhill to the east and west, presumably to keep the tunnel dry for monitoring or communications equipment.

"The combination of these factors strongly suggests that test preparations are well underway, including the installation of instrumentation," 38 North said. "There is no significant activity at the other areas of the test site. The lack of activity may mean that test preparations are in their final stages."

It cautioned against declaring a nuclear test is imminent because the North could use such activity for deception.

A new test would mark the North's sixth nuclear test. Pyongyang carried out its first nuclear test in 2006 and then conducted four more in 2009, 2013 and January and September of last year.

The State Department declined comment on signs of test preparations, but called for restraint.

"The DPRK's continued defiance of its UNSCR obligations only serves to increase the international community's resolve to counter the DPRK's prohibited weapons of mass destruction programs," Katina Adams, a spokeswoman for the State Department, said, referring to U.N. Security Council resolutions.

"We also call on the DPRK to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric that threaten international peace and stability, and to make the strategic choice to fulfill its international obligations and commitments and return to serious talks," she said.

jschang@yna.co.kr
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