(MENAFN) South Korea’s intelligence agency has assessed that North Korea is fully prepared to conduct its seventh nuclear test and could proceed swiftly once leader Kim Jong-un decides, according to reports.

Officials from the Defense Intelligence Agency briefed lawmakers in a closed-door session of the Parliamentary Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, stating that “if Kim makes a decision to conduct a nuclear test utilizing the No. 3 tunnel at Punggye-ri, it can be carried out in a short time,” lawmakers Park Sun-won and Lee Seong-kweun told reporters.

The agency believes Pyongyang is increasing its efforts to secure nuclear materials and build facilities for producing warheads. North Korea’s last nuclear test took place in 2017.

The report also suggested that Pyongyang is preparing another launch of a high-resolution spy satellite. The country’s first military satellite, Malligyong-1, was launched in 2023, but a follow-up attempt failed in May 2024 when the rocket exploded shortly after liftoff.

North Korea remains under UN sanctions for its nuclear weapons program, which it insists is essential for national defense.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump recently said that North Korea was not alone in testing nuclear weapons, claiming that Russia and China were also conducting such tests. He has also expressed openness to meeting Kim Jong-un, calling North Korea a “sort of nuclear power.”

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