Satellite spots Nork soldiers recreating iconic scene from 'Top Gun' at nuclear testing site?

Greg P. | 8:58 AM on April 20, 2017

It appears World War III is on hold.

Analysts who studied private satellite photos of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea are reporting “somewhat unusual” activity at the facility: volleyball.

From the New York Times:

Analysts of satellite images of North Korea spot "somewhat unusual" activity at nuclear test site: volleyball games. https://t.co/1Oj8eu7Kp3 pic.twitter.com/1tuHOOTBDn

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) April 20, 2017

However, these same analysts are at a loss as to what this really means:

The volleyball games, played in the middle of that international crisis, were probably intended to send a message, analysts said, as the North Koreans are aware that the nuclear test site is under intense scrutiny. But what meaning the North wanted the games to convey is unclear.

“It suggests that the facility might be going into a standby mode,” Joseph Bermudez told reporters on a conference call organized by 38 North, a research institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. “It also suggests that these volleyball games are being conducted with the North Koreans knowing that we’ll be looking and reporting on it.”