North Korea testing ‘nuclear detonation device’: Seoul

SEOUL: North Korea has trialled a "nuclear detonation device", a senior South Korean presidential official said on Wednesday, adding that a nuclear test could be imminent.

US and South Korean officials have warned for weeks that Pyongyang may conduct a seventh nuclear test, and on Wednesday it test-fired three missiles, including possibly its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17.

The latest launch comes just days after US President Joe Biden left South Korea on Sunday. Despite struggling with a recent Covid-19 outbreak, the isolated country has resumed construction at a long-dormant nuclear reactor, new satellite imagery has indicated.

"Operational tests of a nuclear detonation device in preparation for a seventh nuclear test are now being detected," said Kim Tae-hyo, first deputy director of the National Security Office. These experiments were being carried out away from the North’s key nuclear testing site, which was being closely monitored by Seoul, he said.

"The North Korean authorities are imminently near the final preparation stage for a nuclear test of a scale and quality they want," Kim told reporters. "The possibility of an imminent nuclear test in the next day or two is low, but after that, there is certainly a possibility," he added. The presidential office did not give any further details on the detonation device.