North Korea suspected of preparing nuclear test...

South Korea says North Korea is preparing for its third nuclear test. South Korean intelligence authorities analyzed an image taken on April 1st by a US commercial satellite. The image shows a new tunnel at a nuclear test site in Poongkye-ri, North Hamkyong Province, in the northeast of the country. The South Koreans said that the North is digging the ditch for another nuclear test. The tunnel is south of the ones used in nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. Since last month dirt has been accumulating at the entrance of the new pit. A South Korean expert says the North usually fills the tunnels with dirt when it conducts nuclear tests to measure the effect of the explosion and to keep nuclear substances inside. North Korea conducted its past two nuclear tests within three months of its long-range ballistic missile launches. The country says it will launch a rocket carrying a satellite between April 12th and 16th. The South Korean government says the North is highly likely to carry out a nuclear test, as a reaction to international criticism, following the planned launch.
(Japan Broadcasting Corporation, 2012-04-09)