This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22061377

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
North Korea preparing nuclear test, South Korea says North Korea nuclear test 'not imminent' says South
(about 2 hours later)
North Korea may be preparing for a fourth nuclear test, South Korean officials say. South Korean officials have said there are no indications that the North is about to carry out a nuclear test.
South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told lawmakers there were signs of increased activity in the North's main nuclear test site. A defence ministry spokesman said while activity had been detected at the Punggye-ri underground test site, it appeared to be routine.
North Korea has stepped up its habitual fiery rhetoric against the US and South Korea in recent weeks. South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae had earlier said there were indications a test was being prepared.
Correspondents say it is unclear whether a test is being prepared or it is a ruse to boost the sense of crisis. Meanwhile the North has said it is withdrawing all its workers from the shared Kaesong industrial complex.
Mr Ryoo did not elaborate on the specific intelligence which led South Korea to suspect the North was set to carry out its fourth nuclear test. It is the latest ramping up of Pyongyang's rhetoric in the wake of UN sanctions imposed last month following its third nuclear test.
But when asked about a news report that North Korea had stepped up activity at the underground site it has used in previous tests, he said "there are such signs". 'No unusual movement'
Kim Min-seok, a spokesman for South Korea's defence ministry, said it was possible that the North could fire a ballistic missile and conduct a nuclear test at the same time. On Monday, Mr Ryoo was asked by South Korean MPs about a news report which said North Korea had stepped up activity at the Punggye-ri site it has used in previous tests, with increased movement of personnel and vehicles detected in what was said to be a similar pattern to that which preceded the last test in February.
But the official Yonhap news agency quoted him as playing down the threat of an imminent test, saying there were several facilities at the nuclear test site so the movement of vehicles and people there was expected. Mr Ryoo said there were "such signs", but did not elaborate on specific intelligence.
"Currently, there is no new movement to add on to the previous briefing," he said. But the defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok later denied that a test was thought to be imminent.
Newspaper JoongAng Ilbo quoted an unnamed South Korean official as saying that South Korean intelligence had detected "increased activity of labour forces and vehicles" at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the country's north-east. He said that while there was activity at the site, Seoul had detected "no unusual movements that indicated [North Korea] wanted to carry out a nuclear test".
"We are closely monitoring the ongoing situation, which is very similar to the situation ahead of the third nuclear test," the official told the newspaper. It was already known that the North had prepared two tunnels in which to carry out its recent test, and that it could choose at any time to use the second one, he said.
"We are trying to figure out whether it is a genuine preparation for a nuclear test or just a ploy to heap more pressure on us and the US." "The situation remains the same. If the North makes a decision, it could always carry out an atomic test," said Mr Kim.
Embassy warning The Associated Press quoted Mr Ryoo as saying he had misspoken. He said he could not remember making the comments, which were caught on camera, and was "startled" to see them reported, AP reports.
The United Nations imposed tough sanctions on North Korea last month following its third nuclear test. Pyongyang responded by stepping up angry rhetoric, including threats to use nuclear weapons and restarting its nuclear reactor. The confusion is being seen as an indication of just how tense the situation has become on the Korean peninsula over recent weeks.
In recent weeks, the North has shut down an emergency military hotline between Seoul and Pyongyang, stopped South Koreans from working at the Kaesong joint industrial complex and warned it would not be able to guarantee the safety of foreign embassy staff in the event of a war. Pyongyang's announcement that it is withdrawing its more than 50,000 workers from the joint Korean Kaesong complex came as a senior official Kim Yang-gon visited the site.
On Monday, the North's state news agency said a senior official had visited the Kaesong complex and told workers there to prepare for all possible developments. The complex, just over the border in the North, is staffed by Northerners but funded and managed by South Korean firms, and had been one of the last remaining symbols of inter-Korean co-operation.
Pyongyang has already banned South Koreans from entering, but Kim Yang-Gon, secretary of the party's Central Committee, said Pyongyang would now "temporarily suspend the operations in the zone and examine the issue of whether it will allow its existence or close it".
"How the situation will develop in the days ahead will entirely depend on the attitude of the South Korean authorities," the North's KCNA news agency quoted him as saying, blaming "military warmongers" in the South for the closure.
Warlike media
The United Nations imposed tough sanctions on North Korea last month following its third nuclear test. Pyongyang has responded by issuing almost daily threats to use nuclear weapons and saying it would restart its nuclear reactor.
The North has also shut down an emergency military hotline between Seoul and Pyongyang and last week warned it would not be able to guarantee the safety of foreign embassy staff in the event of a war.
But some analysts have suggested that the rhetoric is in large part designed to shore up the standing of a young, inexperienced leader, Kim Jong-un, in the eyes of his own people, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul.But some analysts have suggested that the rhetoric is in large part designed to shore up the standing of a young, inexperienced leader, Kim Jong-un, in the eyes of his own people, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul.
North Korea's state media have been broadcasting a continuing diet of war and retribution, our correspondent adds, with programmes about biochemical war, nuclear war and military preparations dominating the listing.North Korea's state media have been broadcasting a continuing diet of war and retribution, our correspondent adds, with programmes about biochemical war, nuclear war and military preparations dominating the listing.
Meanwhile, Japan's defence ministry said the country's armed forces have been ordered to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory.Meanwhile, Japan's defence ministry said the country's armed forces have been ordered to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory.
Over the weekend, the US cancelled a scheduled test of its Minuteman 3 ballistic missile, citing concerns that it could be misinterpreted by Pyongyang.Over the weekend, the US cancelled a scheduled test of its Minuteman 3 ballistic missile, citing concerns that it could be misinterpreted by Pyongyang.