Reports of Pyongyang planning third nuclear test raise concerns
BEIJING - Barely a fortnight after its failed rocket mission, North Korea has again evoked global concerns, this time over reports that it is on the verge of a third nuclear test.
Intelligence agencies have reported test preparations at P'unggye-yok, a test site in North Korea near the Chinese border, with signs of tunnelling being seen.
NBC News has quoted US officials as saying that North Korea may already have an arsenal of between 12 and a "few dozen" far more advanced weapons. While the officials couldn't be specific about a date for the test, they said they were "100 per cent" certain there would be a nuclear test within the next two weeks or "at any time", NBC said.
Meanwhile, South Korea and China have warned Pyongyang of dire consequences if it goes ahead with a third nuclear test.
North Korea is believed to have conducted two underground nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 at P'unggye-yok, near the town of Kilju.
South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho Byung-je has warned that any such action by Pyongyang would be in violation of international sanctions.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said Beijing would oppose any action that could destabilize the region.
Russia has raised the alert level for its forces in the Far East, based on specific intelligence that it expects North Korea to carry out an underground nuclear test very soon.
On April 13, Pyongyang's Unha-3, or 'Milky Way', rocket had exploded 90 seconds after blast off and the debris had fallen into the Yellow Sea.
The U.N. Security Council and North Korea's major ally, China had criticised the rocket launch, which global leaders said was a cover for a ballistic missile test.
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