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The Korean government says it has seen no evidence supporting international reports that North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test, and has not been briefed on suspicions by Washington. ¡°We haven¡¯t heard any explanation from the United States concerning a North Korean nuclear test, and we don¡¯t have any intelligence concerning the possibility,¡± the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
However, there is official concern that Pyongyang could conduct a test at some stage. A South Korean official dealing with North Korea¡¯s nuclear program said, ¡°When you look at it theoretically, it¡¯s likely that a nuclear test would come before or after a declaration that a state has nuclear weapons. Since North Korea has already said it has nuclear arms, it¡¯s always possible that it could conduct a test.¡±
On April 25, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said, ¡°If North Korea conducts a nuclear test, it would start along a path where the future could not be guaranteed.¡±
¡°An underground nuclear test would use existing tunnels or caves, and in a closed society like North Korea, it¡¯s tough to come across signs of an impending test ahead of time.¡± He said having built all kinds of underground facilities, ¡°North Korea can conduct a test any time it makes up its mind to do so without any outward signs¡± that preparations are underway. But he added the actual test would be impossible to hide because tests are discovered by monitoring seismic waves.
(Kwon Dae-yeol, dykwon@chosun.com )
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