World ‘holding its breath’ over North Korea, says IAEA

A TV screen shows file footage of a North Korean missile test, in Seoul on Friday. Pic/AFP

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog on Thursday said a seventh North Korea nuclear test would be further "confirmation of a program which is moving full steam ahead in a way that is incredibly concerning."

"Everybody is holding its breath about this," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said. "Further tests, of course, means that they are refining the preparations and the construction of their arsenal."

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He told reporters in New York that the IAEA is following very closely and that "we hope it doesn't happen, but indications unfortunately go direct in another direction." The United States and its allies believe North Korea could be about to resume nuclear bomb testing for the first time since 2017.

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