[3/25/17] Kim Jong-Un is preparing to carry out a fresh nuclear test within days, it has been claimed.
North Korea said last year it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile amid fears Pyongyang wants to build rockets capable of reaching the US.
Pyongyang is now in the final stages of testing a nuclear weapon at Punggye-ri on the east coast ‘at any time’ once the dictator gives the green light, officials in the region have claimed.
The secretive nation has previously claimed to have carried out a hydrogen bomb test at the same site last January sparking fears it could be about to repeat H-bomb blast.
Hydrogen bombs are much more powerful, and much more difficult to make, than atomic bombs and there has been scepticism that Kim Jong-Un has reached the stage of testing one.
U.S. and South Korean military surveillance assets were closely monitoring the Punggye-ri site said a South Korean military official, who declined to be identified.
Speaking by telephone, the official also declined to comment on whether there were fresh signs pointing to an imminent test.
‘North Korea is ready to carry out a nuclear test at any time, depending on the leadership’s decision. We are keeping a close eye on its nuclear activities,’ the official said.
South Korea has been aware that the North could move ahead with another test at any time since it conducted its last nuclear test in September.
