NORTH Korea is on the brink of its first nuclear bomb test in five years, South Korea has said.
The South is now in 24-hour stand-by as it awaits the next move by the North’s dictator Kim Jong-un, who has recently ordered a flurry of missile tests which he has personally overseen.
The office of the South’s president Yoon Suk-yeol is now preparing for North Korea’s seventh underground nuclear test.
“As North Korea’s provocations have become more frequent, we’re putting all of our effort into maintaining a readiness posture with a sense of alertness,” one senior official said.
“It’s a 24-hour readiness regime.”
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Another official said the presidential office has been coming up with detailed plans to respond to a North Korean nuclear test adding “everyone is in standby mode”.
South Korea’s armed forces are currently carrying out their annual drills designed to boost their ability to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat
“The forces will conduct real-world day and night manoeuvres simulated to counter North Korea’s nuclear, missile and other various threat,” said its general staff.
Earlier this year, satellite images suggested preparation was underway for a test, at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research centre.
The country’s spies believe the North’s could carry out a test any time between now and the US mid-term elections.
The first test was carried out by the North back in 2006 and since then the impoverished nation has been ploughing large parts of its meagre income into its nuclear programme.
The last test in 2017 came after the failure of then President Donald Trump’s attempts to persuade Kim Jong-un to give up nuclear weapons during three face-to-face meetings.
Down the years, the dictator has been seen personally supervising nuclear tests and inspecting weapons.
But the North’s nuclear programme has been hit accidents, including one soon after the last test when an underground nuclear site reportedly collapsed killing up to 200 people.
At the beginning of October, North Korea fired a nuclear capable missile over Japan in its biggest ever test – with the devastating weapon capable of reaching US military bases on the island of Guam.
The weapon, understood to be an intermediate range Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, landed with a splash after blasting 2,800 miles.
It is believed to be longest ever flight by one of Kim Jong-un’s weapons.
And chillingly it shows the rogue ruler’s weapons can now hit Guam – a US controlled island home to 154,000 people and 22,000 military servicemen.
The tests have continued with the launch of cruise missiles are among a number of smaller weapons, which are able to fly low and manoeuvre in order to better evade missile defences.
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Kim said last year that developing smaller nuclear bombs is a top goal,
North Korea’s recent barrage of missile tests prompted South Korea, the US and Japan to conduct joint drills in response.
