Korea: N. Korea almost completes nuclear test preparation

Analysts say a new atomic test could happen before North Korea holds a ruling Workers’ Party congress in early May so that leader Kim Jong Un can burnish his image at home and further cement his grip on power.

“It’s certainly possible in the event of North Korea’s Party Workers’ Congress, which is to take place on May 6, that the regime will do something else, another missile test, maybe even another nuclear test”. Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, who died in December 2011, never held a ruling party congress.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that Washington could “destroy” North Korea with its nuclear arsenal, but that it is restraining itself out of consideration for its ally, South Korea.

“North Korea’s miscalculation is that by ignoring warnings from the global community and continuing to launch provocations, it will not defend its security but only speed up its own collapse”, she added.

The U.S. State Department said that in response to Saturday’s launch, it was limiting the travel of North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong and his delegation to United Nations functions in NY, where they are attending a United Nations meeting on sustainable development.

The party faced a “task of advancing the final victory of its revolution under the leadership of Kim Jong Un”, its Politburo said, announcing that the congress, the first since 1980, would begin next Friday.

The UN gave North Korea tough sanctions after its January test and a February long-range rocket launch.

Kim will be expected to unveil Pyongyang’s plans for the future given the absence of political opposition in North Korea.

But North Korea already has between six and eight nuclear warheads that could be mounted on a missile. Such a risk entails both heightened geopolitical tensions and brief financial volatility, particularly in the Japanese and South Korean markets, where the threat from North Korea is most acute.

Another diplomatic source said North Korea’s apparent preparations for a fifth nuclear test might be a burden for China.

While South Korean experts say it’s unlikely that North Korea now possesses an operational submarine that can fire multiple missiles, they acknowledge that the North is making progress on such technology.

North Korea is allegedly preparing to test-launch an intermediate-range ballistic missile after an earlier attempt on April 15 failed, South Korean state media reported on Tuesday. Moon said the military expected the DPRK to deploy submarine-launched missiles within the next three to four years, but he noted that the deployment date could be brought forward if Pyongyang spends all of its capabilities on the development.

North Korea said this week it needed a “powerful nuclear deterrence” to counter hostility and threats by the United States.