Photo : YONHAP News
Anchor: Seoul’s Defense Intelligence Agency(DIA) says North Korea has completed preparations for its seventh underground nuclear test at its Punggye-ri nuclear testing site. During a closed-door briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee, the military intelligence agency said the North could also test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile shortly before the presidential election in the U.S. next week.
Our Kim Bum-soo wraps up the DIA’s assessment.
Report: South Korea’s military intelligence arm says North Korea could try to draw attention to its nuclear capabilities in the days leading up to the U.S. presidential election next week.
The Defense Intelligence Agency(DIA) on Wednesday told the parliamentary Intelligence Committee that preparations for a seventh nuclear test at the Punggye-ri facility appear to be complete in the North.
Following the closed-door briefing, intelligence committee lawmakers shared details from the briefing with reporters.
Preparations to test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile also seem to be near completion in a bid to verify the atmospheric reentry technology.
The DIA is not ruling out the possibility that the ICBM test could occur before or after the U.S. presidential election next Tuesday.
Amid deepening military cooperation with Moscow, Pyongyang is seeking from its ally not only advanced military technologies but also opportunities to modernize its conventional weapons systems, according to the defense intelligence authority.
As the North seeks to improve its war capabilities, the DIA said the North Korean soldiers in Russia are not trained for modern drone warfare and are likely to suffer considerable damage.
The DIA, however, couldn’t confirm whether the North Korean troops have already been dispatched to front lines to engage in battle.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.