UN report: North Korea ‘paving the way’ for more nuclear tests

North Korea has made preparations for a nuclear test in the first six months of this year, according to an extract from a confidential United Nations report seen by the media.

North Korea has made preparations for a nuclear test in the first six months of this year, according to an extract from a confidential United Nations report seen by the media.

Independent sanctions monitors told the UN Security Council’s North Korea Sanctions Committee that “work at the Bangi-ri nuclear test site is paving the way for additional nuclear tests to develop nuclear weapons.”

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“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continued to develop its fissile material production capacity at the Yongbyon site,” the observers wrote.

Yongbyon is North Korea’s main nuclear facility and operates its first nuclear reactor.

The United States has long warned that North Korea is ready to conduct a seventh nuclear test and says it will push again for tougher UN sanctions if the test is carried out.

The UN monitors also said investigations showed that Pyongyang was responsible for the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets in at least one major hack.

Observers had earlier accused North Korea of carrying out cyber attacks to finance its nuclear and missile programs.

The observers wrote that Pyongyang continues “other cyber activities focused on information theft and more traditional ways to obtain valuable information and materials for the DPRK’s prohibited programs, including weapons of mass destruction.”

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The United Nations Security Council has banned North Korea for years from conducting nuclear tests and launching ballistic missiles and has tightened sanctions over the years, trying to cut off funding for those programmes.

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has made preparations at its nuclear test site, but it has not tested a nuclear bomb,” the observers said. In the first half of 2022, the country continued to accelerate its missile programs (which began in September 2021).”

They said North Korea launched 31 missiles that combine guidance and ballistic missile technologies, including six tests of ICBMs and two missiles it explicitly described as ballistic weapons. Observers added that North Korea has continued illegal oil imports and coal exports, evading sanctions.

They noted that although it is difficult to make an accurate assessment, there is “almost no doubt that UN sanctions have inadvertently affected the humanitarian situation” there.

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