|A man looks at a satellite image of North Korea’s nuclear test
site in Punggye-ri.(Yonhap News)| North Korea’s Punggye-ri
nuclear test complex is an ideal place to conduct underground
atomic detonations due to its geological features and isolated
location, South Korean observers said. Observers in the military
and government said Pyongyang selected the region and started
constructing the site likely over two decades ago, although the
certain date is not known. From the 1990s onward, the South
Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies have been closely
observing the site. The site was used by the communist country
to detonate its first and second nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009,
with Seoul predicting a third test can take place at anytime if
the North’s leadership decides to take such a step. The North
said late last month that it will build up its capability to
deter aggression right after the U.N. Security Council passed a
resolution condemning the Dec. 12 launching of a long range
rocket. The international comm