USA believes that North Korea is expected to conduct another “nuclear test”.following the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the communist regime last week, a senior White House official said Sunday.

“For some time I am concerned that North Korea will conduct its seventh multi-government nuclear test. And I still worry about that,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the CBS talk show “Face the Nation.”

“I don’t see any immediate indication that that’s going to happen. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if North Korea goes ahead with another nuclear test regarding the ICBM capabilities,” he added.

Sullivan stressed that the Pyongyang government had begun testing its nuclear capability several years ago and “they have continued to test it.”

North Korea said publicly on Thursday that it had successfully launched the country’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile. Leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the launch.

The missile, a solid-propulsion Hwasong-18 reportedly tested only once before, flew 1,001 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 6,648 kilometers before falling into the Baltic Sea, also known as the Sea of ​​Japan. reports the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Relations between North Korea and South Korea are at a tense time. Last year, Kim declared his country an “irreversible” nuclear power and called for more weapons production, including tactical nuclear weapons.

The United Nations, the United States and its allies strongly condemned Wednesday’s launch, calling it in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

However, Sullivan reiterated Washington’s offer to negotiate with Pyongyang, saying Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration is “willing to sit down and talk without preconditions about its nuclear program.”