[앵커]
The US CNN reported that North Korea built a new structure to hide the entrance to an underground tunnel suspected of storing nuclear weapons. Related satellite images were also released. While analysis is being raised that it may be a move to attract North Korea’s attention, voices are also calling for speed in the Biden administration’s North Korea policy.
Correspondent Lim Jong-ju reports from Washington.
[기자]
This is a satellite image of Yongdeok-dong, Guseong-si, North Pyeongan Province, taken on the 11th of last month.
This is where the U.S. intelligence authorities suspect there may be a nuclear weapons storage facility.
In the past photos, you can see two places side by side that appear to be entrances leading to an underground tunnel.
However, if you look at the new satellite image, there is a structure in the shape of a building.
It appears to be for the purpose of covering the tunnel entrance, CNN said.
[CNN 보도 (현지시간 2일) : 북한이 핵무기 보관 장소로 추정되는 장소를 은폐하려는 노력을 보여주는 것입니다.]
It also added meaning as reaffirming the perceptions of intelligence authorities and experts that North Korea is continuing to develop nuclear weapons.
Some analyzes suggested that it could be used to attract North Korea’s attention, considering the period immediately after the inauguration of the Biden government.
CNN reported that the Biden administration is expected to complete a review of its North Korean policy in a few weeks and make public announcements.
Some parliamentarians and former officials are ordering to speed up the North Korean issue before North Korea initiates a provocation, such as a missile test launch.
Former USFK Commander Vincent Brooks said it was a “moment of opportunity,” and said there should be a channel for direct communication with Chairman Kim Jong-un.