North Korea digging tunnel for nuclear test: report

North Korea appears to be readying for a possible third nuclear test as early as next March, a newspaper reported yesterday, as a US politician travelled to Pyongyang with a message for the North to "calm down."
US and South Korean intelligence have been watching the North's nuclear sites for any activity. Analysts say the North could use a test to try to gain leverage in international talks it is seeking and secure aid to prop up its destitute economy.
South Korea's Chosun Ilbo daily yesterday cited an intelligence official from Seoul as saying a tunnel was being dug at the country's nuclear test site that could be completed in March next year.
South Korea's foreign ministry said it was closely monitoring the site and said there was no concrete evidence to show the North Koreans were preparing for a third test.
The amount of earth removed from the site in Punggye township, in a northeastern region of North Korea, indicated the tunnel was about 500 meters (550 yards) deep, the Chosun Ilbo report said.