A former commander of the United States Forces Korea says he does not believe North Korea has the ability to conduct a threatened "new form" of nuclear test.
Pyongyang in late March declared it "would not rule out a new form of nuclear test” if the United States and South Korea did not cancel planned military exercises. This week, South Korea warned this week that its neighbor will suffer "unimaginable consequences" if it goes ahead with a such a test.
But retired General James Thurman said in an interview with the VOA Korean Service Friday that if Pyongyang does conduct another test, it will likely be similar to its three previous tests.
Two of those tests used plutonium as the fissile material. Experts say it is unclear whether the third test used plutonium or enriched uranium to fuel the weapon.
Gen. Thurman served as the commander of the United Nations Command, ROK-US Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea from July 2011 to October 2013.
Retired General Burwell Bell, another former USFK commander, says the chances of the North using highly enriched uranium in a new nuclear test are slim.
Bell predicts that any new form of nuclear test would involve “either a smaller weaponized type of bomb or a larger detonation bomb.”
Reporting from Korean Service's Sungwon Baik and Jee Abbey Lee
Pyongyang in late March declared it "would not rule out a new form of nuclear test” if the United States and South Korea did not cancel planned military exercises. This week, South Korea warned this week that its neighbor will suffer "unimaginable consequences" if it goes ahead with a such a test.
But retired General James Thurman said in an interview with the VOA Korean Service Friday that if Pyongyang does conduct another test, it will likely be similar to its three previous tests.
Two of those tests used plutonium as the fissile material. Experts say it is unclear whether the third test used plutonium or enriched uranium to fuel the weapon.
Gen. Thurman served as the commander of the United Nations Command, ROK-US Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea from July 2011 to October 2013.
Retired General Burwell Bell, another former USFK commander, says the chances of the North using highly enriched uranium in a new nuclear test are slim.
Bell predicts that any new form of nuclear test would involve “either a smaller weaponized type of bomb or a larger detonation bomb.”
Reporting from Korean Service's Sungwon Baik and Jee Abbey Lee
