Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada warned Thursday that North Korea may have already completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test, all while conducting a spate of test missile launches that began at the start of this year.
Hamada also said during a parliamentary session that Pyongyang's weapons technology has developed "at a rapid pace," acknowledging it has become "more difficult to intercept" missiles it launches.
He expressed wariness that Pyongyang might conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017 in the not-so-distant future, given the progress of repair work at the nation's only known nuclear test site, in Punggye-ri in the nation's northeast.