U.S. "North Korea has only a political decision to conduct its seventh nuclear test...Russia provides top-of-the-line technology to the North"

[Anchor]
The U.S. State Department representative of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group says North Korea has completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test and all that remains is a political decision.

The White House Asia aide also expressed concern about strengthening ties with North Korea, saying Russia would provide North Korea with tremendously advanced technology.

I'll connect you to an international reporter to find out what's inside. Reporter Kim Jandi!

Please pass it on.

[Reporter]
A key official in charge of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons at the U.S. State Department said at a conference on the Korea-U.S. alliance held by the Korea Society.

Deputy Secretary of State for Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability Alexandra Bell on North Korea's additional nuclear test,

"The U.S. evaluates that North Korea is ready for a potential seventh nuclear test and is only waiting for a political decision."

He also warned that such an experiment by North Korea would seriously raise tensions in the region and pose a threat to global security.

Belle, deputy secretary of state for the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), mentioned North Korea's recent test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM),

All missile launches and all nuclear threat investigations by North Korea show North Korea's willingness to advance its illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

In particular, he stressed that the South Korea-U.S. alliance should be developed to prepare for potential attacks by North Korea, including its use of nuclear weapons, saying that North Korea is acting recklessly and unstable recently.

He then reiterated that our goal is to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, saying that the U.S. defense commitment to South Korea is as strong as iron.

[Anchor]
The close relationship between North Korea and Russia is strengthening due to the North Korean military's dispatch to Russia, and there are concerns about this, right?

[Reporter]
Analysts say that Russia will not only defend North Korea in international organizations and try to justify its nuclear weapons capabilities, but also provide North Korea with unimaginable levels of advanced technology.

He also predicted that this will not be an easy task for the U.S. administration for years to come.

This is what Mira Rapp Hooper, a senior adviser to the Asian Pacific Ocean at the White House National Security Council, said at a meeting with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Rap Hooper said, "I regret most that I failed to prevent North Korea from strengthening military cooperation in close contact with Russia as it is now."

He confessed that once the relationship between North Korea and Russia began, it was on a dizzying trajectory, and that he often thought about what the U.S. could do to change its trajectory.

But as someone who has dealt with the policy very closely, it has been very, very difficult to find a point where it can change its trajectory, it added.

Lab Hooper said the Biden administration had contacted North Korea through all possible channels from the start to today and expressed its willingness to talk on a range of topics without preconditions, adding Pyongyang was adamant about its determination not to come to the table.

However, he said that the challenges posed by North Korea and Russia have encouraged the U.S., South Korea and Japan to strengthen trilateral cooperation, which would have been unimaginable years ago.When asked to pick the most difficult Asian security issue to respond to,

Lab-Hooper said, "North Korea is a really difficult issue that various administrations have been working to resolve."

So far, I'm YTN Kim Jandi from the international department.