This doesn't look good...
Two days after reports about North Korea rebuilding a long-range missile test site surfaced in Western media, the Korea Times reported Thursday that a 2.1-magnitude earthquake has been detected in North Korea.
Most alarmingly, the Korean Meteorological Administration said the quake was the result of "artificial" seismic activity, presumably the result of an explosion inside a mine.
"The epicenter is measured to be near the land surface," one official reportedly said.
While it's too early to say whether this was the result of what would be the country's seventh nuclear test, it's worth noting that two of the North's previous launches generated earthquakes with magnitudes 2.1 and 3.4, respectively. Though experts have also warned that previous tests may have created instability created by past test launches (or maybe even the country's underground nuclear testing facility has finally completely collapsed).
Asked about reports that North Korea had started rebuilding the long-range missile facility, President Trump said he'd be "very, very disappointed" if they proved true. Those reports were followed up on Thursday by analyst speculation that the launch site might already be operational.
But imagine what Trump would say if Kim jumped straight to another nuclear test, despite promising that he would continue to observe the moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests that has persisted since November 2017?
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