North Korea could be mulling a nuclear test around the U.S. election in November, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said in an interview published Sunday.
“North Korea has completed preparations to conduct a nuclear test when a decision is made,” Shin told Bloomberg, in an interview in Tokyo on Sunday.
“We cannot rule out the possibility of that decisive moment being right before or after the US presidential election to raise its leverage against the U.S.,” Shin added.
The warning comes amid heightened tensions between North Korea and the allied countries of South Korea, Japan and the United States. North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has continued to expand his country’s nuclear arsenal, as he frequently warns against any increased cooperation between his rivals.
Bloomberg reported over the weekend that the South Korean defense minister was in Tokyo to sign a deal with the U.S. and Japan to lock in new steps in their security cooperation, including joint military training.
Earlier this month, President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol authorized the signing of joint nuclear deterrence guidelines, which prompted Pyongyang to threaten to boost its own nuclear fighting capability, as it slammed the effort as revealing an intention to invade North Korea.
Shin also told Bloomberg in the recent interview that North Korea may be emboldened to conduct nuclear tests because of increased cooperation with Russia.
“We believe that Russia is providing technical support not just for rockets but for the modernization of conventional weapons that North Korea wants,” Shin told Bloomberg. “We will have to monitor with time how these technologies are transferred to North Korea and lead to changes in its weapons systems.”
The Hill has reached out to the State Department, Pentagon and National Security Council for a response.