North Korea could carry out a third nuclear test next year to strengthen the credentials of its young leader-in-waiting, Kim Jong-un, a research report from a South Korean Foreign Ministry institute said on Friday. The report came a day after Pyongyang vowed a nuclear "sacred war", using its nuclear deterrent, after the South vowed to be "merciless" if attacked again 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 programme, but a third test would raise tensions further on the divided peninsula and rattle global markets. "There is a possibility of North Korea carrying out its third nuclear test to seek improvement in its nuclear weapons production capability, keep the military tension high and promote Kim Jong-un's status as the next leader," the report said, referring to ailing Kim Jong-il's youngest son.