SEOUL -
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un said his we would soon conduct another nuclear
test and also test-fire ballistic missiles proficient of carrying a nuclear
warhead, the country’s state-run news media reported yesterday.
Mr Kim declared that “a
nuclear warhead explosion test and a test-fire of several kinds of ballistic rockets
able to carry nuclear warheads will be conducted in a short time to further improve
the confidence of nuclear attack capability”, the North’s official Korean
Central News Agency reported yesterday.
Mr Kim made the explanations
while observing officials conducting an imitation test of re-entry technology,
said the news agency. The technology is needed for a warhead on a worldwide
ballistic missile to survive the heat and vibration while dipping through the
atmosphere towards its target.
South Korea’s Ministry of
National Defense said there were no signs of activities at the North’s nuclear
test site or its long-range rocket station.
Although North Korea has frequently
threatened to launch nuclear strikes against the United States, officials and forecasters
have questioned how close the country has come to acquiring such technology, as
well as the ability to guide a long-range missile. After the north’s report,
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said that it still does not believe
the North had acquired missile re-entry technology.
Fears have grown,
however, that the country is grasping technologies to build such a missile. It
launched a long-range rocket to put a satellite into orbit on Feb 7. And, on
Jan 6, it conducted its fourth nuclear test.
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