North Korea could hold nuclear test on coming anniversary, US says
- Pyongyang is ignoring Washington’s overtures for talks and may be planning its first such launch in nearly five years, according to US envoy Sung Kim
- North Korea might seek to show off its growing nuclear weapons capacity on April 15, the 110th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung
.png?itok=arIb17P0)
Sung Kim, the Special Representative for North Korea Policy, said Washington thinks Pyongyang could be planning a big show of its growing nuclear weapons capacity on the annual holiday next week, which will celebrate the 110th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, who founded the modern Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
“We are worried that in connection with the upcoming April 15 anniversary, the DPRK may be tempted to take another provocative action,” Kim told reporters, referring to North Korea’s recent ballistic missile test launches.
“I don’t want to speculate too much, but I think it could be another missile launch, it could be a nuclear test,” he said.
Kim’s sister calls South Korean minister ‘maniac’ over missile comments
North Korea has tested nuclear weapons several times starting in 2006, and its last test was in 2017.
Pyongyang has continued to ignore Washington’s overtures to resume discussions about removing all nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula, Kim said.
“We have not received any response from Pyongyang, which is very disappointing, because we have sent several messages, both public and private, inviting them to a dialogue without any conditions,” he said.
“Instead they have initiated a series of missile tests that recently culminated in at least three ICBM launches. These actions pose a serious threat to regional stability.”
01:01
North Korea releases images of its largest intercontinental ballistic missile test launch yet
After Biden took office, North Korea began a series of missile tests, 13 in all, that culminated last month with the test of a ballistic missile that could potentially deliver a nuclear warhead to the eastern United States.
The tests have alarmed North Korea’s immediate neighbours South Korea and Japan.
Japan expands sanctions against North Korea, targets Russians
Sung Kim said that Washington is pushing for a fresh resolution condemning Pyongyang’s actions at the UN Security Council.
But he noted that in six earlier efforts this year, Russia and China “have consistently blocked our efforts to produce a UN public statement”.
