27 September,2024 12:45 PM IST | Seoul | mid-day online correspondent
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North Korea is expected to conduct a nuclear test, its seventh such test, following the US presidential elections to be held in November, according to an official of South Korea's intelligence agency, ANI reported.
Following a briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Thursday, Lee Seong Kweun, a member of the intelligence committee of the South Korean parliament, the National Assembly, told reporters that while a nuclear test may take place before the election, it is more likely to occur after, cited in a Yonhap news outlet report.
According to Lee and Park Sun-won of the main opposition Democratic Party, as cited by ANI, the NIS informed the parliament intelligence committee that a nuclear test is likely to occur along with other provocative activities like a satellite launch and missile test firing.
South Korea's intelligence agency NIS also claimed that Pyongyang (a city in North Korea) owns around 70 kilograms of plutonium and a significant quantity of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which is enough to build a two-digit number of nuclear weapons, Yonhap said.
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Lee stated that "externally, it can be interpreted as a move conscious of the US ahead of its presidential election, while internally it appears to be an attempt to boost confidence among the population amid the extremely dire economic situation." ANI reported.
As per ANI, The North Korean media released photographs of their leader Kim Jong Un seen inspecting a uranium enrichment facility, earlier this month. They even released photos of centrifuges that produce fuel for its nuclear bombs.
North Korea's nuclear programme is banned under several United Nations Security Council resolutions, ANI reported.
The country, which conducted its first nuclear test in the year 2006, has never publicly revealed details of its uranium enrichment facility.
According to ANI, as per NIS, the facility is most likely suspected to be the Kangson nuclear complex near Pyongyang.
On September 18, North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile towards the east while on September 12, Pyongyang tested a new 600mm multiple rocket launcher.
(With inputs from ANI)
