Europe/Asia Tensions Escalate, Pyongyang Denies Reports Of Troops In Russia, Seoul: North's 7th Nuclear Test Could Be Any Time

Senior South Korean official: North Korea may carry out its long-expected 7th nuclear test in November, around the time U.S. elections are held, or "at any time".

EUROPE/ASIA - A South Korean that has been arrested in China is set to become the first person charged under China's newly passed version of the country's Counterespionage Act. Additionally, South Korea says North Korea could carry out a nuclear test “at any time”, adding that it could be carried out around U.S. elections in November. On October 23rd, North Korean state media said that the country’s leader Kim Jong Un inspected Pyongyang’s strategic missile bases.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Photo: KCNA

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, who did not reveal the person's name, said said the person South Korean was arrested by Chinese agencies "on suspicion of espionage". 

"A South Korean citizen was arrested by relevant Chinese agencies on suspicion of espionage. The relevant content has been notified consularly to the South Korean Embassy in China, and necessary assistance has been provided to the embassy staff," Lin Jian stated.

"As a country governed by the rule of law, China investigates and handles illegal and criminal activities in accordance with the law, while protecting the legal rights of the parties involved."

On Monday South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that a South Korean man in his 50s was taken by the National Security Bureau and taken from his place of residence in Hefei, in the Anhui Province in Eastern China and taken to a hotel for quarantine investigation, and was officially arrested last May.

Regarding the recent reports that Pyongyang has sent 10 to 12 thousand troops to Kursk, Russia (Ukraine’s national media Ukrinform is reporting 12,000), North Korea released a statement denying the reports, calling the claim a "rumor", although Russian President Vladimir Putin neither confirmed nor denied that North Korea had sent troops to Russia.

Photos/videos: Kremlin

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong Gyu said of the reports, "I heeded the rumor of the dispatch of KPA troops to Russia, which the world media is building up public opinion. The DPRK [North Korea's official name] Foreign Ministry does not directly engage in the things of the Ministry of National Defense, and does not feel the need to confirm it separately.

If there is such a thing that the world media is talking about, I think it will be an act conforming with the regulations of international law. There will evidently exist forces which want to describe it as illegal one, I think."

Additionally, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched large-scale drills simulating massive retaliatory strikes with its nuclear forces, including the live-fire launches of nuclear-capable (but not likely nuclear armed) ballistic and cruise missiles.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that the exercise is intended to practice “strategic offensive forces launching a massive nuclear strike in response to a nuclear strike by the enemy.”

North Korean Foreign Minister Pays Visit To Russia, Tensions Between North/South Korea Continue To Escalate, Pyongyang Beefs Up Security Due To Fears Of Assassination Attempt, Russia Carries Out Nuclear Exercises. Seoul: North Korea Could Carry Out Nuclear Test Any Time: