Seoul anticipating another NKorean nuclear test

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) - Multiple South Korean officials warned Friday that North Korea could carry out another nuclear test imminently, as Pyongyang prepares to celebrate a pair of key dates.

Sunday marks a decade since the reclusive state’s first ever nuclear detonation, ahead of Monday’s 71st anniversary of the North Korean Workers’ Party’s foundation.

The United Nations Security Council is still coming up with stronger sanctions in response to the North’s nuclear test last month – the nation’s fifth and most powerful to date.

While Seoul’s foreign ministry and presidential office said they would be “closely watching” North Korea this weekend, a defense ministry official told local news agency Yonhap that the “chances are high” of a sixth nuclear test or ballistic missile launch.

With increasing speculation in both the United States and South Korea of a possible pre-emptive strike against the North, Seoul has placed its military in a state of heightened vigilance.

The South’s unification ministry added that the government is “fully prepared”.

There is evidence of preparations for a new nuclear test in North Korea, with the respected 38 North website publishing satellite imagery of activity around three tunnel complexes at the country’s well-publicized Punggye-ri site.

Despite the threat of stronger punitive measures, Pyongyang also continues to be brazen about its weapon ambitions.

The North’s official KCNA news agency carried a statement Thursday from a foreign ministry spokesperson boasting of the state’s “powerful nuclear attack capabilities”.

“The U.S. will sooner or later face a shuddering reality,” the official threatened.