South Korean Defense Minister: ”North Korea may conduct nuclear test around the time of US presidential election”

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said, "There is a possibility that North Korea will conduct a nuclear test around the time of the US presidential election," Bloomberg reported on the 29th (local time).
During his visit to Japan on the 28th for the Japan-US-South Korea defense ministers' meeting, Defense Minister Shin said in an interview with Bloomberg News that "North Korea is fully prepared to carry out a nuclear test if it decides to do so.
"We are in a position where we need to strengthen our negotiating power with the United States," he said. "We cannot rule out the possibility that this decision will be made around the time of the U.S. presidential election."
North Korea has used military provocation as leverage in negotiations at every major political juncture.
Meanwhile, at the summit, the three countries of Japan, the United States and South Korea signed the "Japan-US-ROK Security Cooperation Framework," the first document to institutionalize trilateral security cooperation in response to the nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea.
"The three countries are close to reaching an agreement on standard operating procedures (SOPs)," Defense Minister Singh explained in an interview with Bloomberg News.