Satellite images have surfaced recently revealing North Korea’s digging of a tunnel in what seems to be a preparation for a new nuclear test.

According to reports from intelligence officials, the excavation at northeastern Punggye-ri, where previous nuclear tests were done in 2009 and 2006, is already in the final stages. What observers are anxious of is a repeat of an incident in 2009 when the country walked out from nuclear negotiations and subsequently conducted a nuclear test.