N. Korea finishing preparations for nuclear test
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The DPRK is choosing the date for a new nuclear test.
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The news was reported ahead of a visit by Joe Biden to South Korea and Japan from May 20 to May 24 (KCNA)
South Korean media reported on Thursday that the DPRK is currently in the midst of choosing a date for a new nuclear test after preparations for it have been completed.
Yonhap news agency reported that South Korea's Intelligence Service said, during a closed meeting with MPs, that there are indications of Pyongyang preparing for an ICBM launch.
South Korea is saying it has concerns that North Korea may stage a "provocation" during US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to Seoul.
"It would not be abnormal for North Korea to launch a missile or conduct a nuclear test at one point, as signs (of such provocations) are detected and Pyongyang has almost completed its preparations," lawmaker Kim Byung-kee from the main opposition Democratic Party said.
South Korea's military had announced last week that North Korea launched three short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast.
The purported launch from North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, came two days after South Korea's hardline new President Yoon Suk-yeol was inaugurated in Seoul. Despite the lack of an official declaration from North Korea, the office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida verified the launch.
The launch was believed to be the DPRK's 16th test of the year.
