North Korea appears to have made preparations for another nuclear test, according to U.S. defense officials. "We think they've put everything in place to conduct a test without any notice or warning," a senior U.S. defense official tells ABC News.The official cautions that the intelligence is inconclusive on whether North Korea will actually go ahead with another test, but said the preparations are similar to steps taken by Pyongyang before it shocked the world by conducting its first nuclear test on Oct. 9.
Two other senior defense officials confirm that recent intelligence suggests the North Koreans appears to be ready to test a nuclear weapon again, but the intelligence community is divided about whether another test is likely. "That would surprise me," a senior intelligence official said when asked if North Korea is likely to soon conduct another test.
| "Hell, we don't know," he added honestly. |
In the weeks before the test on Oct. 9, U.S. spy satellites witnessed the unloading of large cables at a suspected test site in a northeastern North Korea named P'onggye. The more recent activity has been observed in the same area as where the test was conducted on Oct. 9.