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Punggye-ri nuclear test site is reportedly demolished on May 24, 2018. Photo: News1-Dong-A Ilbo via Getty Images
When North Korea exploded its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri last month, it was likely all a charade.
The evidence: The amount of dust from the explosions appears to have been too small for scientists to glean geologic activity, like a collapsed tunnel, and journalists who were invited to watch were 500 meters from the explosion, which indicates they were small blasts, per CNN.
The big picture: North Korea may not be serious about completing a verifiable, permanent, and irreversible denuclearization; North Koreans removed technical equipment from the site before the detonations, indicating they may be interested in using it later.