Reasons that prompted North Korea to conduct its 6th nuclear test

Pyongyang must conduct at least one more nuclear test to perfect its ability to miniaturize a warhead for a ballistic missile.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a nuclear device. Photo: KCNA.

North Korea claims to have successfully developed an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of hitting any target on the continental United States. The next challenge is to fit a nuclear warhead small enough to the missile and perfect its reentry technology. To do that, Pyongyang will have to conduct at least one more nuclear test and multiple ICBM test launches, according to the National Interest.

South Korean intelligence believes that the two ICBMs North Korea tested in July have not yet completed re-entry technology and cannot be equipped with the types of nuclear warheads in the country's inventory. That has significantly reduced the power of ICBMs, making them almost incapable of threatening the enemy, forcing Pyongyang to find a solution to miniaturize the warheads.

The most reasonable solution is to focus on developing thermonuclear warheads (H-bombs), which have much greater explosive power than fission bombs of the same size. North Korea has claimed to have successfully tested a thermonuclear bomb, but this has not been proven. Professor Choi Jin Wook of Ritsumeikan University in Japan believes that Pyongyang must conduct a sixth nuclear test to perfect the nuclear warhead for ICBMs.

Observers say North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will carefully time his sixth nuclear test, which would likely cause a rift with China, North Korea’s only major ally, and lead to tougher sanctions from the United Nations.

Pyongyang's five previous nuclear tests. Click on the image to see the full version.

After leader Kim Jong-un accelerated the pace of weapons development with multiple ballistic missile launches and two nuclear tests in January and September 2016, some observers predicted that North Korea's sixth nuclear test would take place early this year.

However, this scenario did not happen as Pyongyang focused on testing a series of ballistic missiles with different ranges, aiming to perfect the ability to attack the US mainland.

However, in the current tense situation, a sixth nuclear test could be a less dangerous solution for North Korea, instead of trying to carry out the plan to fire ballistic missiles towards Guam. "North Korea will conduct a nuclear test to force the US to the negotiating table," said Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor of diplomacy at Korea University./.

According to VNE