South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sub announced that North Korea is continuing to prepare for nuclear tests, but so far there are no “concrete” signs that a test is imminent.
“It appears that the North Korean regime is continuing preparations to launch an ICBM or short-range ballistic missile,” the Yonhap news agency quoted the minister at a parliamentary briefing on Monday.
The agency commented that the South Korean defense minister’s remarks were “in light of fears that Pyongyang might take provocative actions under the guise of responding to the Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington, which Pyongyang always describes as a rehearsal for war.”
“While North Korea develops its nuclear and missile capabilities and completes preparations for its possibly seventh nuclear test, a dangerous security situation remains,” South Korea’s defense minister told a meeting of the parliamentary committee on national defense, adding that “ Based on the strong alliance between Korea in the south and the United States, our armed forces maintain a strong defensive posture to actively respond to these security threats.”
Lee said the North Korean side is “able to conduct an underground nuclear test in the third tunnel of the Pyeongeri nuclear test site, but there are no unusual signs indicating an imminent test.”
Regarding this, Yonhap News Agency explained, “The third tunnel is one of the four known tunnels. Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test in Tunnel 1 in 2006, and Tunnel 2 was used in the next five underground nuclear tests.”
“The North Korean military is focusing on rebuilding security facilities damaged by recent heavy rains and is participating in civilian support activities such as efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak, as well as working to increase vigilance in response to the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise,” the defense minister said. South Korea.
Commenting on the results of joint exercises with the United States, Lee noted “ongoing efforts to strengthen South Korea’s capacity to deal with full-scale military scenarios, strengthen the joint operational capabilities of the two allies, and create the conditions for a (systematic and stable) transfer of control of wartime operations from Washington to Seoul.”
Source: Yonhap