- This was stated by the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, in New York.
- The launch of two more short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan this Friday adds to the tension.
 |
| Aerial view of North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test center in a file image. |
UN nuclear agency has hints of upcoming North Korean nuclear test: 'We're all holding our breath'
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Thursday that there are "increasing indications" that North Korea is preparing to carry out what would be its first nuclear test since 2017.
"We hope it doesn't happen, but unfortunately the signs (go) in another direction," IAEA director Rafael Grossi told reporters in New York, where the agency's office is located at UN headquarters.
"Everyone is holding their breath on this because another nuclear test would be one more confirmation of a program that is going full steam ahead in an incredibly worrying way," Grossi added.
Observers have feared for months that, following Pyongyang's numerous missile tests, North Korea's first nuclear test in nearly five years is imminent.
Since June, the IAEA has highlighted activity at Punggye Ri, where North Korea conducted six nuclear test explosions between 2006 and 2017.
The United States also warned on Monday that North Korea is "likely" to carry out a nuclear missile test after seeing an escalation in tension in recent weeks.
"Our concern about the possibility of another North Korean nuclear test, which would be the seventh, has been constant for a long time. This is consistent with North Korea's own public statements, and it is something we have said for several years. months," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news conference, according to a State Department statement.
Two more missiles into the Sea of Japan
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan (called the East Sea in the two Koreas) on Friday, in another gesture that contributes to worsening the climate of tension on the Korean peninsula.
"The Republic of Korea (South Korea's official name) military detected two short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea from the Tongcheon area of Gangwon province into the East Sea between 11:59 a.m. and 12:18 p.m. -3.18 GMT) today, Friday, October 28," explained the southern Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in a statement.
With this latest action, Pyongyang adds at least 45 projectile launches this year, a record number that, together with the maneuvers with which Seoul and Washington are replicating and the possibility that the regime will carry out a new nuclear test, is generating tension similar to that reached during the 2017 crisis.
This latest launch comes on the same day that Seoul and Washington plan to conclude their combined Hoguk maneuvers and on which both allies also announced that they will carry out large-scale aerial exercises with the participation of fighter-bombers between October 31 and November 4 fifth generation.
Tags:
Politics