<Anchor>
Our intelligence authorities believe that the most likely date for North Korea's nuclear test is Friday.
The South Korean and American military authorities sent 20 fighter jets sortie over the West Sea yesterday (7th) and sent a warning message to North Korea.
This news is by Lee Dae-wook.
<Reporter>
In less than three months since the restoration of Tunnel 3 at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Hamgyong Province was detected in March, preparations for a nuclear test by North Korea were virtually completed.
A government source said, "Considering various information such as preparations, weather, and internal circumstances in North Korea, the date of the nuclear test is highly likely to be on the 10th. I think they will do it,” he said.
The South Korean and US vice foreign ministers, who met in Seoul yesterday, suggested that military action as well as additional sanctions would follow if North Korea went ahead with its nuclear test.
[Wendy Sherman / Deputy Secretary of State: There will be a swift and decisive response to such a (nuclear) test.]
[Hyun-dong Cho / 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs: There is no choice but to consider additional measures in terms of the ROK-U.S. defense posture…
.]
As an additional measure, the deployment of US strategic assets such as strategic bombers and Nimitz-class nuclear carriers on the Korean Peninsula is likely.
Twenty South Korean and American fighters sent a strong warning message to North Korea during a combined flight over the West Sea yesterday.
It is a response flight that overwhelms the enemy by forming an attack squadron. The Korean Air Force dispatched 16 elite fighters, including the F-35A, F-15K, and KF-16, and the US Air Force participated in 4 F-16s.
In particular, five F-35A with excellent stealth function were equipped with precision-guided bombs and went to flight, showing off that they can fly through North Korea's air defense system and hit the command center.