North Korea may conduct nuclear test as Seoul prepares for US VP Harris' visit: Report

Seoul has issued a warning that North Korea may be preparing to test a new ballistic missile, as US Vice-President Kamala Harris is set to visit South Korea as part of her Asia tour. Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday that South Korea's military has detected signs that the Democratic Republic of North Korea is likely to test a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). It is to mention that SLBM is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines and supports carrying a nuclear warhead. 

As per the reports, the South Korean military detected evidence of preparations for the missile tests this week in Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province of North Korea.  

According to Yonhap, the information reiterates the revelations made by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US-based think tank. In a report that was published this week, the think tank had made similar assumptions regarding the possibility that North Korea may test the missile citing commercial satellite imagery.  

Kamala Harris' Asia trip

The Vice-President of the United States, Harris, is set to visit the region next week and will meet the leader of South Korea and Japan.  A senior US administration official informed a briefing on Friday that it was possible that the DPRK may conduct a nuclear test or indulge in other provocations during Harris' trip to the region, but that they officially had no announcements or predictions to make.  

Yonhap also reported that the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, was aware of the signs and developments regarding North Korea’s possible preparations to conduct such tests.  

On the sidelines, an aircraft carrier of the US Navy, USS Ronald Reagan reached the port of Busan on Friday to participate in the joint military drills between the two nations. North Korea has previously denounced US military deployments and joint drills with South Korea as rehearsals for war and evidence of hostile policies by Washington and Seoul.  

North Korea’s nuclear record  

Following a long preparation and opting to indulge in rogue methods to fulfil its nuclear dream, Pyongyang had conducted a major nuclear test back in 2017. According to a BBC report, the explosion at the Punggye-ri test site had a yield of between 100-370 kilotons.  

A 100-kiloton bomb is six times more powerful than ‘Little Boy', the nuke that was dropped by the United States on Hiroshima in 1945 during the Second World War.