North Korea may have new atom test to boost heir: South [View All]

[nadinbrzezinski]

Source: Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea could conduct a third atomic test next year to boost the credentials of its leader-in-waiting, while prospects for bilateral talks with Seoul are slim, a South Korean foreign ministry report said on Friday.

The regular report from a ministry research institute was published a day after Pyongyang vowed a nuclear "sacred war" after the South vowed to be "merciless" if attacked, and held a major military drill near the border.

The North, which carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, has yet to show it has a deliverable weapon as part of its plutonium arms program, but a third test would raise tensions further on the divided peninsula and rattle global markets.

Nuclear experts have also said they expect a third test soon, while South Korean media reported earlier this month that the North was digging a tunnel in preparation for one.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101224/wl_nm/us_korea_north;_ylt=AiLb5SJWtlGg.8OC7JA6NrIBxg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJsYTRidnFtBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAxMjI0L3VzX2tvcmVhX25vcnRoBHBvcwMxMARzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNub3J0aGtvcmVhbWE-

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Yep, dynamic has completely changed