“It would be extremely unsafe and destabilizing if they tested a nuclear-armed KN-08 missile…I’m not sure North Korea’s neighbors could distinguish a “test” from an ‘attack, ‘” Ms. Hanham said.
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His warning is seen as little more than a furious reaction by Pyongyang to annual military exercises carried out by South Korea and the United States.
“No. Our policy is not a regime change (in North Korea)”, he emphasized. In separate images, Kim observed the object described by KCNA as a warhead tip.
Earlier this month, the United Nations Security Council adopted a new sanctions resolution punishing the North for its January 6 nuclear test and February 7 long-range rocket launch.
Even if the tests mentioned in Tuesday’s report go ahead, analysts in Seoul say the nuclear warhead explosion will likely be just a test of an empty warhead – containing only a trigger device but lacking plutonium or uranium.
North Korea has never tested an ICBM, although it has displayed such a missile, known as the KN-08, during recent parades.
The North Korean leader issued the threat as he supervised a successful simulation of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile, according to the North’s state media earlier in the day.
South Korea’s defence ministry said it was sceptical of the claim.
Following the tests, South Korea shut down the joint Kaesong industrial park which is a crucial source of funding for the fragile North Korean economy. This technology is needed for missiles to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere intact.
Kim said last week his country had miniaturized a nuclear warhead.
He has been quoted as ordering the production of more nuclear bombs and preparations for using them on short notice, including possible pre-emptive attacks, and making threats to turn South Korea, the US mainland and USA bases in the Pacific into a “sea of fire and ashes”.
“One of the big questions about North Korea’s nuclear program is whether or not North Korea can design a re-entry vehicle that will protect the warhead during its journey from launch to target”.
In their phone conversation on Monday, the two ministers also discussed the often-strained relationship between their countries, with Wang urging Japan to make “constructive efforts” to improve ties, the ministry said.
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Over the past couple of days, the Korean peninsula has been in a state of tension as the North continues to threaten its Southern counterpart with nuclear warfare.
