It’s the shoe that all of East Asia is still waiting to drop.
U.S. intelligence warned months ago that a region-rattling seventh North Korea nuclear detonation test could be imminent, but such a test has yet to occur and North Korea watchers say the reason is tied to Pyongyang’s complex relationship with the Communist Party-ruled government in neighboring China.
While the Biden administration is pushing for Beijing to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong-un not to go forward with a test, analysts say the strategy is unlikely to work because Mr. Kim is determined to use a test to prove his regime — despite its heavy economic reliance on Beijing — is not controlled by China.