North Korea may conduct its seventh nuclear test after the United States holds its presidential election in November, South Korea's intelligence agency told lawmakers on Thursday, according to reports.
This assessment was presented to the parliamentary intelligence committee by the National Intelligence Service, which, in turn, suggested that Pyongyang had alternative options, even a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Rep. Lee Seong-Kweun of the ruling People Power Party and Rep. Park Sun-won of the main opposition Democratic Party reported this information.
According to the NIS, it is estimated that North Korea still has about 70 kilograms of plutonium as well as some highly enriched uranium in significant amounts. Estimates indicate this is a quantity sufficient for a two-digit number of nuclear weapons.
The intelligence agency added that North Korea appears to have factored in the U.S. election in making its decision to reveal an HEU facility last week. It may also be aimed at giving confidence to the North Korean population, who are badly hit by pressing economic challenges, the NIS hinted.
It "can be interpreted from the outside as a move conscious of the U.S. ahead of its presidential election, while from within, it appears to be an attempt to boost confidence among the population amid the extremely dire economic situation," Lee said, according to Yonhap news agency.
North Korea's state media for the first time disclosed information on the country's uranium enrichment facility, publishing pictures of leader Kim Jong-un's visit to the site earlier this month, but refused to give its location or even the date he visited the place.
The location, however, remains speculative. "The suspected location of the facility appears to be the Kangson nuclear complex near Pyongyang," said an NIS official, but said that the site is not easy to trace.
The agency explained the September 18 test launching of new tactical ballistic missiles by North Korea aimed to demonstrate verification of precision strike capability. One of the two missiles reportedly hit its objective, and in the NIS words, "that is a slight improvement from the past."
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