After Kim Jong Un Orders a Nuclear Test: Possible Key Installations and Equipment Identified at North Korea's Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility
Based on recent satellite imagery of the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility, 38 North has identified installations that may play a critical role in the conduct of a North Korean nuclear detonation.
One facility is a command and control bunker located approximately 150 meters from the possible test tunnel entrance that, in addition to providing shelter for all personnel in the area, could contain equipment for controlling the nuclear device, managing instruments for monitoring test data and communicating with higher authorities.
In addition, a Russian radio relay system appears to be nearby and may be part of a communications system with Pyongyang.
If the command is given to move forward with a nuclear test, while no outside observer knows for sure the train of events that might be set in motion, based on what we do know about practices in other countries that have conducted such explosions, personnel at the site might take the following steps:
The nuclear device and its trigger are moved from storage and assembled in the tunnel chamber. If stored offsite, this could take a week; if onsite, a day or so.
The trigger initiation assembly and wiring are connected, checked, double checked and set in a safe mode, a process likely to take one to two days. The device will then be ready.
At the same time, test site personnel will: 1) check and calibrate sensors in the device chamber and tunnel that will provide critical data over cables attached to recording equipment near the tunnel entrance on whether the device worked as planned; 2) check and calibrate sensors in the bunker area; and 3) check command and control consoles and communications equipment in the bunker for connectivity to the nuclear device trigger, proper monitoring of the sensors assigned to the test and secure communications with Pyongyang.
After preparations are successfully completed, the site commander communicates to Pyongyang that he is ready. Sometime after, the capitol transmits an order via secure communications channels to the commander to be prepared to conduct the test on a specified day.
Just hours before the test, the site commander orders a final status check on the readiness of the nuclear device and the calibration of the sensors as well as on favorability of weather conditions. He then sends an advisory message to Pyongyang.
The final order to proceed may arrive in as little as an hour. All personnel then go to the command bunker and the site commander orders the countdown to begin.
During the countdown, the chief engineer goes through the system readiness checklist. If there are no problems, a test ready state is declared at one minute before detonation.
The site commander detonates the device, perhaps by inserting and turning a key in his console in the command bunker. Depending on North Korean procedures to prevent an unauthorized detonation, he may be preceded by another officer who follows the same procedure.
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