North Korea could launch yet another missile as soon as Saturday when the country celebrates its founding day, hot on the heels of its biggest-to-date nuclear test.
"I think another ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] test ... could come on Sept. 9. The North Koreans love to put on a big show for their big national holiday," said Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the U.S.-based Center for the National Interest.
For North Korea, the timing of weapons tests is of strategic importance.
"They're going to want to get the most attention they can," Kazianis told CNBC in August. That means Pyongyang is unlikely to provoke at a time when it expects another major event to be dominating the headlines, he suggested.
World leaders roundly condemned the nuclear test, with several calling for new sanctions on North Korea. But the country is likely to continue with the provocations, which are key components of Pyongyang's strategy to be recognized as a nuclear state and reduce U.S. support for Seoul, analysts said.
Sunday's underground test was estimated to have an explosive yield of 120 kilotons, compared with the 15 kiloton yield of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II. It also caused strong tremors in North Korea.
Kazianis said another nuclear test is inevitable, and it could come in the next few months.
Reference: CNBC
Read More: https://www.cnbc.com/
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