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The US envoy to North Korea said on Friday that Washington, in close coordination with South Korea, Japan and allies, was “preparing for all possibilities” as it monitored North Korea for a possible nuclear test.
U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials have said they have detected North Korea’s efforts to prepare a test site in the northeast of the country, to conduct a new nuclear test, which would be the seventh since 2006, and the first since September 2017. In 2017, North Korea claimed to have detonated a thermonuclear bomb, which according to Pyongyang could be placed on its intercontinental ballistic missiles.
US envoy to North Korea Sung Kim was in Seoul to meet with counterparts from South Korea and Japan to discuss the growing threat posed by nuclear weapons and North Korea’s nuclear program. .
“The United States estimates that North Korea is preparing its country for testing in Puggye for the seventh nuclear test. “This assessment also consists of recent statements made by North Korea.”
In addition to coordinating with Seoul and Tokyo, Kim said the United States was preparing a “medium- and long-term action plan regarding our military position and to respond to any provocations from North Croatia and, if necessary, strengthen defense and protect allies in the region. “
Japan’s representatives said North Korea was preparing to likely conduct a nuclear test, seeking a stronger international response.
Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington over its nuclear program have stalled since 2019 due to disagreements over easing US sanctions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expanded his ballistic missile program, seeking to present his country as a nuclear power, in order to be in a better position to extract concessions from the West.
In 2022 alone, North Korea conducted 17 missile tests, including the first test in almost five years of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The United Nations Security Council remains divided over the issue of sanctions against North Korea, and Russia and China last week vetoed a US resolution calling for additional sanctions to be imposed following recent missile tests by North Korea. / REL
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