U.S. says North Korea ready for nuclear test, awaits political go-ahead

North Korea is only a "political decision" away from carrying out its seventh nuclear test, a senior U.S. official said Friday, at a time when the world is closely watching for any shifts in Pyongyang's policy direction in connection with Donald Trump's upcoming return to the White House."The United States assesses that (North Korea) has prepared its Punggye-ri test site for its potential seventh explosive nuclear test," said Alexandra Bell, deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear affairs.At a conference in Washington organized by the Korea Society, she said, "Such a test would cons…READ FULL ARTICLE