Stay safe tomorrow (April 15th) - 6th Nuclear test - Cover story
April 13, 2017
North Korea May Be Preparing Its 6th Nuclear Test.
New satellite images suggest that North Korea might soon conduct another underground detonation in its effort to learn how to make nuclear arms — its sixth explosive test in a decade and perhaps it’s most powerful yet.
North Korea's Nuclear tests:
North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests in total, three of them under current leader Kim Jong Un, who has significantly ramped up the country's program.
"North Korea believes the only way to deter the US from attacking them and maintaining the power of the Kim regime is by the possession of nuclear weapons," Bermudez said.
North Korean officials told CNN in Pyongyang this week that the decision by US President Donald Trump to bomb a Syrian airfield, as well as his dispatching a US navy carrier strike group to northern Asia, showed the importance of the nuclear program.
"The aggressive acts of war on the part of the United States are getting increasingly reckless," the official said.
Trump has promised to "be effective" on North Korea and called on China to play a role containing the regime's nuclear program. Following a talk between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday, Trump said China "wants to do the right thing."
Bermudez said the regime has "repeatedly stated that if Libya or Iraq had nuclear weapons the US would not have attacked them."
North Korea will mark the "Day of the Sun" on April 15, to mark the 105th anniversary of the birth of the country's founder Kim Il Sung. The date has typically been a key one for weapons tests and other displays of strength.
However, none of the five previous nuclear tests have been conducted around the anniversary, and while Bermudez said the evidence suggests there is "probably a sixth coming up," ultimately preparations did not mean much without a final say so from the country's supreme leader.
"It really depends on one person and that's Kim Jong Un," he said. "No one else is going to make the decision."
Day of the Sun (April 15th )
Previous years have seen grand military parades, mass celebrations and weapons tests conducted on the "Day of the Sun."
"It's a demonstration of national pride," Bermudez said, adding that satellite imagery appeared to show thousands of people and hundreds of vehicles practicing this week for the event.
A gathering at the remote site is considered a strong sign.
On March 28, a satellite image showed people gathered in front of an administrative building at the test site. The last time such a large group was observed was on Jan. 4, 2013, a little more than a month before North Korea’s third nuclear detonation.
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