"It is highly likely there will be a seventh nuclear test coming out of North Korea," Bera told a podcast from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "All indications are there will be a seventh nuclear test. We have to decide what our responses will be on that."
The US government had to close ranks with its two most important Northeast Asian allies, South Korea and Japan, to plan in advance a coordinated response to the expected test, Bera, a leading expert in Congress on US-Korean relations, said.
"We are really going to have to start speaking with one voice on the nuclear issue. If there is that seventh nuclear test, that just elevates the importance of a strong trilateral relationship speaking with one voice on the geopolitical issues in the region," Bera said.
North Korea has completed all preparations for a nuclear test but is waiting for the right moment to maximize its effect, while closely watching the situation in the international and domestic arena, South Korean Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se said on June 27.