The United States warned on Friday that North Korea could conduct its first nuclear test since 2017, while issuing a new call for dialogue despite the current diplomatic disagreement.
According to Washington’s findings, Pyongyang is preparing the Punggye-ri test site and may be ready to conduct testing there as early as this month, which will be its seventh test nuclear power, spokeswoman for American diplomacy, Jalina Porter, told reporters.
This analysis is consistent with recent public statements made by North Korea itself.he added, making sure the American government shared it with its allies and would go to pursue his close coordination with them.
Kim Jong-un’s regime has stopped firing intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear tests since 2017. He has partially broken this moratorium by firing intercontinental missiles by the end of March, and many observers expect to try. he also had an atomic weapon soon, as he had done six times between 2006 and 2017.
His last nuclear test was also his most powerful, a hydrogen bomb with an estimated yield of 250 kilotons.
Satellite imagery showed signs of new activity in a tunnel at the Punggye-ri site. The latter, according to North Koreans, was demolished in 2018 before a historic summit between Kim Jong Un and then US President Donald Trump, which marked the beginning of a phase of dialogue that has long been on fire. .
Joe Biden, the Republican billionaire’s successor, said he was willing to renew this dialogue to discuss the denuclearization of the reclusive nation, but his outstretched hand remained empty.
In contrast, North Korea has been increasing since the beginning of the year weapons tests banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions.
” The United States remains determined to want a diplomatic exchange and has called on North Korea to talk. “
So far, the Biden administration has instead turned away from what it considers Provocation.
His response remained relatively modest, in the form of major symbolic sanctions, even as his envoy for North Korea’s file, Sung Kim, assured in mid-April to speak in Seoul how to answer sa possible nuclear test.
Cryptocurrency laundering
On Friday, the U.S. Treasury broke new ground through sanctions for the first time a cryptocurrency mixera sophisticated service allegedly promoting North Korea’s financial activities illegal.
This blender [appelé Blender]was accused of helping wash part of the theft biggest crypto heist in the world-the theft at the end of March of 620 million US dollars attributed by Washington to a group of hackers linked to Pyongyang.
To avoid severe UN and US sanctions, North Korea turned to stealing funds from cryptocurrency exchanges, to generate revenue for its illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programssaid Antony Blinken in a statement.
US authorities accused group Lazarus and APT38 of hackers in mid -April companions to the reclusive regime, which was responsible for stealing $ 620 million in ethereum that followed the Axie Infinity video game hack in late March.
Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game, a decentralized digital ledger that can no longer be changed. It allows you to earn money in the form of NFTs, digital tokens.
According to the U.S. Treasury, Blender was used to launder more than US $ 20.5 million of the US $ 620 million stolen.
Blender, also the English name for an electric mixer in the kitchen, is a service that makes it easy to launder funds hacked by hackers. by blurring the cards with their origin, destination and counterpartsaccording to the Treasury.
Source: Radio-Canada
