"North Korea, Punggye-ri are ready for nuclear tests...ICBM is likely to launch in November"

[Anchor]
South Korea's military intelligence authorities have reported to the National Assembly that North Korea has completed preparations for nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the U.S. presidential election.

Some analysts say that the North Korean military dispatched to Russia is close to putting in the front line, and the advance party may already be on the battlefield.

I'm reporter Hong Min Gi.

[Reporter]
The Defense Intelligence Headquarters of the Ministry of Defense reported to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee that North Korea may conduct its seventh nuclear test to highlight the nuclear issue before and after the U.S. presidential election.

State Councilor Kim Jong-un has already visited the uranium enrichment facility, and internal preparations for the Punggye-ri nuclear test site appear to have been completed.

[Lee Sung-kwon/Secretary of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee: There is a possibility that a nuclear test using shaft No. 3 will be conducted in Punggye-ri, and Kim Jong-un will make a decision considering the strategic environment including the U.S. presidential election....]

The military intelligence authorities also explained that North Korea is almost ready to launch ICBM-class long-range ballistic missiles, including space projectiles, and that there is a possibility that the launch will take place around the U.S. presidential election.

The mobile missile launcher was prepared and deployed in a specific area, but it was found that it was not mounted on the cradle.

Although there is no information that North Korean troops sent to Russia have yet been officially deployed to the front line, it is true that they are close to being deployed to battleground Kursk.

Some advance teams, including storm troop commanders, may already be on the battlefield, he added.

Some foreign reports that North Korean troops were killed in combat with Ukrainian forces added that there was no information to support them.

It has also been observed that the North Korean military may be mixed with the Russian military due to language and regional problems, and that the damage will not be small due to unfamiliarity with drone warfare and battle on the plains.

[Park Sun-won / Minjoo Party of Korea National Assembly Intelligence Committee Secretary: It is a very natural observation that North Korea will also be vulnerable to drone warfare, which will inevitably cause damage.]

Within the Korean Peninsula, the military reported that North Korea is increasing its troops in more than 10 front lines, and that it is monitoring the possibility of conflict through military activities in the military demarcation line.

The South Korean military also believed that it would be better to ignore North Korea's claim of "South Korea's infiltration into Pyongyang" than to counteract it, as the North has not explained or apologized even after sending drones to the South several times.

I'm YTN's Hong Min Gi.