U.S. "North Korea is ready for its seventh nuclear test..."Only political decisions are left."

A key U.S. State Department official says North Korea is preparing a nuclear test site for a potential seventh nuclear test and is only waiting for a political decision.

Alexandra Bell, deputy secretary of state for arms control, deterrence and stability, said at a conference of the Korea Society on the 22nd local time that North Korea's test would seriously raise regional tensions and pose a threat to global security.

Belle, deputy secretary of state for the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group, said all North Korean missile launches and nuclear threats show Pyongyang's willingness to advance its illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

He also said there was a clear need to develop and adapt the South Korea-U.S. alliance to better prepare for potential attacks, including North Korea's use of nuclear weapons.

He also stressed that our goal is to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, saying that the U.S. defense commitment to South Korea is ironclad.