U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that while it is hard to predict, North Korea could still conduct a nuclear test.
Sullivan made the remarks to reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One en route to Japan for the second leg of U.S. President Joe Biden’s tour of Asia after a three-day trip to South Korea.
The top security advisor earlier said North Korea may stage additional provocations, such as a nuclear test or a launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, during Biden’s Asia tour. However, there was no provocation during Biden’s trip to South Korea.
Sullivan said that it is hard to speculate the North’s decisions, and anytime
people start speculating on what the regime might or might not do, they tend to have their expectations confounded one way or another.
The security adviser reaffirmed that the U.S. is prepared for any contingency.
He added that if North Korea decides to engage in more provocations, the U.S. is prepared to respond, and if the North refrains from tension-escalating acts, it is welcome to come to the negotiating table.
Sullivan then said that there could still be a nuclear weapons test from North Korea.
Source: KBS World Radio