Muhammad Asim Saddiqi 
According to a briefing shared with lawmakers by South Korea’s intelligence agency, North Korea is fully prepared to conduct its seventh nuclear test and could do so swiftly if leader Kim Jong-un gives the order.
During a closed-door meeting of Parliamentary Intelligence Committee, officials informed lawmakers that Pyongyang has completed preparations at the No. 03 tunnel of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. “If Kim Jong-un makes a decision to conduct a nuclear test utilizing the No. 03 tunnel at Punggye-ri, it can be carried out in a short time,” informed by Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sun-won and opposition People Power Party member Lee Seong-kweun.
The Intelligence agency also reported that North Korea is intensifying efforts to secure nuclear materials and is constructing new facilities to manufacture warheads. The country last conducted a nuclear test in 2017.
North Korea is reportedly preparing to launch another military reconnaissance satellite. After successfully deploying its first spy satellite, Malligyong-1, in 2023, Pyongyang pledged to launch three more in 2024. However, no further launches have occurred since a rocket carrying a satellite exploded shortly after liftoff in May.
North Korea remains under UN sanctions imposed in the mid-2000s for its nuclear weapons program, which the regime considers vital to its national security and has refused to dismantle.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump commented on Sunday that North Korea is not alone in testing nuclear weapons, claiming that Russia and China are also conducting similar activities. Ahead of his recent Asia tour, Donald Trump described North Korea as a “sort of nuclear power” and reiterated his openness to meeting Kim Jong-un.
