North Korea 'ready for nuclear test' with Biden due in Seoul
Gulf Times
North Korea is poised to conduct a nuclear test, Seoul and Washington said Thursday, with the United States warning it could come as President Joe Biden visits South Korea this week.
Touted as proof of the US "pivot" to Asia, Biden's first trip as president to the region looks set to be overshadowed by an increasingly belligerent North Korea bent on staging a new "provocation".
Despite a spiralling Covid outbreak, Pyongyang's "preparations for a nuclear test have been completed and they are only looking for the right time", South Korean lawmaker Ha Tae-keung said after being briefed by Seoul's spy agency.
US intelligence says there is a "genuine possibility" that Kim could stage this "provocation" after Biden arrives in Seoul late Friday, his administration said.
