Earlier this month, North Korea conducted a new long-range missile test that traveled 2,000 kilometers over the Yellow Sea. The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test and expressed great satisfaction at having achieved the goal, this time further than any previous launch.
It was a demonstration that “It is combat-ready and can subdue enemies in one blow with an uncompromising, mobile, precise and powerful counterattack”according to the North Korean agency KCNA.
only this year, North Korea has carried out more than 20 weapons tests with around 40 ballistic and cruise missiles. Faced with rising tensions and constant evidence of the growth of its weaponry, there is fear from the intelligence agencies that they will carry out a nuclear test.
If carried out, this would be the seventh nuclear test after the one carried out in 2017. The last four have happened under the leadership of Kim Jong Un.who insistently wants North Korea to be recognized as a nuclear power.
For those purposes, over the decade it has modernized its fleet of missiles, which represents a concern for the intelligence services because it is increasingly difficult to identify them due to the diversification of launch technology.
This week, the US State Department spokesman, Ned Pricewarned about the possibility of such a nuclear test, a scenario that they had been contemplating for months.
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“We assess that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is preparing its Punggye-ri test site for what would be its seventh test”, Price said in the weekly State Department report.
“We are preparing for all contingencies in close coordination with our partners and allies around the world”, he added. The official added that the Undersecretary of State, Wendy Sherman, is in Japan to establish trilateral dialogue with Japan and South Korea, the issue is a priority in his visit.
“We are prepared to make both short-term and long-term adjustments to our military posture as appropriate. to respond to DPRK provocation and, as necessary, to strengthen both defense and deterrence to protect our allies in the region,” Ned Price said.
However, he clarified that they do not have “hostile intentions” against North Korea. The United States remains open to dialogue and diplomatic channels for the “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”
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For its part, Wendy Sherman, who has already held bilateral meetings with his counterpart from South Korea, Cho Hyun Dong, and the Japanese Mori Takeo, He described the trials as “irresponsible, dangerous and destabilizing”.
Furthermore, he reaffirmed that The United States is willing to use “the military capacity that includes the nuclear one” in defense of both countries. Wednesday will be when the meeting between the three representatives takes place. Each has expressed dismay over a possible North Korean nuclear test in the near future.
THE NATION
