North Korea nuke test possible during upcoming Biden visit to Seoul, South Korean officials warn

Pyongyang may conduct what would be its seventh nuclear test around the time new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and President Biden meet in Seoul for a summit set for Saturday or soon afterward, South Korean military officials warned Monday.

A government official briefing reporters on background told The Korea Times that the test could happen in a “short period of time.”

“Our military is bracing for the worst-case scenario of the North conducting a nuclear test in a short period of time and it is maintaining a firm readiness posture,” the official said.

Officials in Seoul told reporters the North Korean regime has made “considerable” preparations for a test at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. According to The Korea Times, government officials have detected signs of such preparations since March.

While the country could press ahead with a nuclear test based on its own timetables, North Korea has been struggling to contain COVID-19 outbreaks with a “maximum emergency” virus control system around the country.

Mr. Biden will make his first trip to Asia since taking office last year. He will meet Mr. Yoon, a conservative narrowly elected in March, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and attend a summit in Tokyo of the “Quad” group of regional democracies — the U.S., Australia, Japan and India, with containing both China and North Korea expected to be high on the agenda for the talks.