North Korea, which last month defied the international community by test-firing missiles, could now be preparing its first test of a nuclear bomb, US media cited US officials as saying.
Analysts said yesterday North Korea could be trying an even more extreme form of saber-rattling to force the international community into making concessions.
However, South Korea said it has no clear evidence suggesting that North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test.
"I haven't heard that we have confirmed clear evidence that North Korea is pursuing a nuclear test," Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok told lawmakers at a committee hearing.
Lee said there is frequent speculation about the North's nuclear program, but that not all of it turns out to be true.
ABC News on Thursday quoted a senior military official as saying a US intelligence agency had observed suspicious vehicle movement at a suspected North Korean test site, including the unloading of reels of cable outside an underground facility.
Such cables are connected to outside monitoring equipment and could be a possible sign of an upcoming test.
A senior US State Department official, who was not identified, told the network: "It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility."
The July 5 missile tests were widely seen as less a display of military muscle than a repeat of Pyongyang's often-used tactic to grab international attention but whose key aim -- to win direct talks with the US -- failed.
"Many of the experts ... have been concerned about the possible options on the part of North Korea, including nuclear tests or other forms of military provocation," said Kim Sung-han, head of North American studies at South Korea's Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.
Pyongyang accuses Washington of trying to topple its government through a crackdown on its finances. It wants this ended before it will return to international talks to end its nuclear weapons program.
The US refuses to end the crackdown or to hold direct talks with the North outside the six-country nuclear negotiations.
Asked about the media reports, a senior US official said: "We have no new evidence to support that."
North Korea has been working on nuclear weapons for years. A June report from the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said the North had enough radioactive material to build between four and 13 bombs.
But officials say no one knows for sure whether it has actually built a nuclear weapon. The North declared itself a nuclear weapons power in February last year, without testing.
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday vowed to investigate claims made in a YouTube video about China’s efforts to politically influence young Taiwanese and encourage them to apply for Chinese ID cards. The council’s comments follow Saturday’s release of a video by Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源) and YouTuber “Pa Chiung (八炯)” on China’s “united front” tactics. It is the second video on the subject the pair have released this month. In the video, Chen visits the Taiwan Youth Entrepreneurship Park in Quanzhou in China’s Fujian Province and the Strait Herald news platform in Xiamen, China. The Strait Herald — owned by newspaper
NEW YEAR’S ADDRESS: ‘No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path,’ William Lai said, urging progress ‘without looking back’ President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday urged parties across the political divide to democratically resolve conflicts that have plagued domestic politics within Taiwan’s constitutional system. In his first New Year’s Day address since becoming president on May 20 last year, Lai touched on several issues, including economic and security challenges, but a key emphasis was on the partisan wrangling that has characterized his first seven months in office. Taiwan has transformed from authoritarianism into today’s democracy and that democracy is the future, Lai said. “No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path for Taiwan,” he said. “The only choice
CORRUPTION: Twelve other people were convicted on charges related to giving illegal benefits, forgery and money laundering, with sentences ranging from one to five years The Yilan District Court yesterday found Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙) guilty of corruption, sentencing her to 12 years and six months in prison. The Yilan District Prosecutors’ Office in 2022 indicted 10 government officials and five private individuals, including Lin, her daughter and a landowner. Lin was accused of giving illegal favors estimated to be worth NT$2.4 million (US$73,213) in exchange for using a property to conduct activities linked to the 2020 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential and legislative election campaigns. Those favors included exempting some property and construction firms from land taxes and building code contraventions that would have required
RSS