OFFICIALS: N. KOREA READYING NUCLEAR OR ICBM TEST

North Korea is preparing to conduct a nuclear test or a long-range ballistic missile test around the time of President Joe Biden’s trip to the region this week, according to intelligence from Washington and Seoul.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. intelligence reflects a “genuine possibility” that there will be “long-range missile test, or a nuclear test or frankly both” in the days leading up to, during or after Biden’s trip to South Korea and Japan.

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service also detected preparations for nuclear and missile tests in the North, said South Korean lawmaker Ha Tae-keung after being briefed by the spy agency on Thursday.

“Despite the coronavirus situations [in North Korea], there are signs pointing to a missile launch,” Ha told reporters, attributing the information to the spy agency. “The country is also done preparing for a nuclear test and just waiting for the right time.”

Largely unvaccinated North Korea announced a “severe national emergency” since reporting its first official COVID-19 case in the country last week. Because of a lack of testing capacity, the true scale of the outbreak is unclear, but state media has estimated nearly 2 million possible cases.

Pyongyang has rebuffed offers of coronavirus aid from Seoul and Washington, said South Korean national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo in a briefing on Wednesday. Given Pyongyang’s non-response, it is difficult to discuss North Korea aid in the upcoming summit meeting between Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, he said.

“If North Korea conducts a long-range missile or nuclear test during Biden’s Seoul visit, it clearly marks a deliberate provocation aimed at extorting concessions from Washington,” said Yang Moo-jin a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

During a summit in 2019, former President Donald Trump refused North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s demand for sanctions relief in exchange for disarmament steps. North Korea has since rejected Washington’s offer for nuclear talks and ramped up weapons testing activities.

While North Korea would view the presidential summit between South Korea and the United States as a fresh opportunity for provocation, it is unclear whether the country currently has the bandwidth to carry out a nuclear or longrange missile test, said Yang. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week called for a “countrywide anti-epidemic war to fight the severe public health crisis,” and even mobilized the national military to help with the supply of medicines in Pyongyang.

A nuclear test from North Korea would strike a sour note amid international efforts to provide the virus-hit country with vaccines, medicine and other forms of support, analysts said.

Biden is landing in South Korea today to kick-start his Asia trip, which will focus on strengthening U.S. ties with its Asian allies amid growing competition from China.