NORTH Korea is ignoring United States overtures for talks and may be planning its first nuclear weapon test in almost five years for its April 15 holiday, said the State Department’s top North Korea envoy yesterday.

Special Representative for North Korea Policy Sung Kim said Washington thinks Pyongyang may be planning a big show of its growing nuclear weapons capacity on the annual holiday next week, which will celebrate the 110th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, who founded the modern Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

“We are worried that in connection with the upcoming April 15 holiday, the DPRK may be tempted to take another provocative action,” he told reporters, referring to Pyongyang’s recent ballistic missile test launches.

“I do not want to speculate too much, but I think it can be another missile launch, it can be a nuclear test.”

North Korea has tested nuclear weapons several times since 2006, and its last test was in 2017.

It has continued to ignore US overtures to resume talks about removing all nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula.

“We have not received any response from Pyongyang, which is very disappointing because we have sent several messages, both public and private, inviting them to a dialogue without any conditions,” said Sung Kim.

“Instead, it has initiated a series of missile tests that culminated in at least three ICBM launches. These actions pose a serious threat to regional stability.”

He said China and Russia are not helping President Joe Biden’s push to restart talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Discussions aimed at containing Pyongyang’s nuclear threat appeared to gain traction under the previous US administration of Donald Trump, but then stopped.

After Biden took office, North Korea started a series of missile tests, 13 in all, that culminated last month with the test of a ballistic missile that could potentially deliver a nuclear warhead to the eastern US.

The tests have alarmed its immediate neighbours Japan and South Korea.

On Tuesday, Jong-un’s powerful sister Kim Yo-jong warned that North Korea will use its nuclear weapons to “eliminate” the South’s army in the event they launch a pre-emptive strike.

Sung Kim said Washington is pushing for a fresh resolution condemning Pyongyang’s actions at the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

But he noted that in six earlier efforts this year, China and Russia “have consistently blocked our efforts to produce a UN public statement”. – AFP, April 7, 2022.