According to US Indo-Pacific Command officials in Honolulu, a nuclear test by North Korea would be a “game changer” in the area and spark a US reaction including “many instruments of state power.”
An official who asked to remain anonymous told reporters that North Korea, which has launched four ballistic missiles this week, appeared to be preparing for a nuclear test that would probably occur one to two weeks after the Chinese Communist Party session beginning on October 16.
The official’s assessment concurs with that of the South Korean security agencies, which predict a test between October 16 and the November 7 US midterm elections.
Although it was acknowledged that no connection had been made between the recent launches and a potential nuclear test, Admiral Sam Paparo, the commander of the American navy in the area, warned any such test would be “a subject of grave, great worry” and would result in a comprehensive US reaction.
He stated, referring to diplomatic, military, and economic actions, that the response “would be first in close collaboration with our treaty partner, South Korea, and would likely be in conformity with our policy of integrated deterrence.”
He claimed that they had threatened to use those weapons on their neighbours and perhaps even the US. “I mean, if you consider other nations that possess those weapons, they do not speak in such a manner. Therefore, everyone should be concerned about it.
If a test were to take place, according to Wilsbach, it would “definitely be a game changer” in the area and he “would not be shocked if we saw some form of test in the near future.”
And many nations would be quite concerned about that, he continued. Even China and Russia, I believe, would be concerned about that.
North Korea adopted a resolution in September announcing itself as a “irreversible” nuclear power in response to pressure from international sanctions over its weapons development.
Since 2006, Pyongyang has conducted six nuclear tests, the most recent and most potent of which was in 2017.
At the nuclear test site Punggye-ri, activity may be seen in a tunnel on recent satellite pictures.
