North Korea appears to be ready for nuclear test once Kim makes decision: Defence Intelligence

Seoul, Nov 5 (IANS) North Korea appears to be ready to promptly carry out what would be its 7th nuclear test should leader Kim Jong-un make a decision on it, the Defence Intelligence agency was quoted as saying by lawmakers on Wednesday.

If Kim makes a decision to conduct a nuclear test utilising the No. 3 tunnel at Punggye-ri, it can be carried out in a short time, Representative Park Sun-won of the ruling Democratic Party and Representative Lee Seong-kweun of the main Opposition People Power Party, who co-chairs the Parliamentary Intelligence Committee, told reporters following a closed-door audit of the Defence Intelligence Agency.

Pyongyang last conducted an underground nuclear test in 2017.

North Korea appears to be beefing up efforts to secure nuclear material and is establishing various types of manufacturing facilities for nuclear warheads, according to the assessment by the agency, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang seems to be preparing for the launch of another spy satellite, capable of providing high-resolution imagery compared with its existing spy satellite, backed by technological assistance from Russia.

The North successfully launched its first military spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, in November 2023 and had vowed to launch three more spy satellites in 2024.

But it has yet to launch another one since a rocket carrying a satellite exploded shortly following takeoff in May last year.

North Korea appears to be partially operating the now-shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex, running facilities used to manufacture everyday necessities, according to the agency.

Meanwhile, North Korea fired around 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system earlier this week, coinciding with a joint visit by the defence chiefs of South Korea and the United States to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, the South’s military said on Tuesday.

The North launched the rockets toward waters off the northern Yellow Sea at around 4 pm on Monday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, adding an analysis of the weapons test is underway.

The launch came less than an hour before US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at Camp Bonifas, just south of the Joint Security Area (JSA) within the DMZ, for a joint visit to the tense border with Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back.

Separately, the military confirmed the North also fired another 10 artillery rocket shells at around 3 pm on Saturday, when South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held summit talks in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering.

“Our military is closely monitoring North Korea’s various activities under a steadfast South Korea-US combined Defence posture and maintains capabilities and a posture capable of overwhelmingly responding to any threat,” the JCS said.

–IANS

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