SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s president said Monday there are signs that North Korea is preparing a fifth nuclear bomb test amid reports of increased brisk activity at the country’s main nuclear test site.
President Park Geun-hye told her top advisers that North Korea could carry out such a test to try to bolster its internal solidarity amid tough international sanctions imposed after it conducted a fourth atomic test and rocket launch earlier this year.
Park didn’t elaborate on what signs pointed to another nuclear test, but ordered the military to be ready to deal with any provocation by Pyongyang, according to media pool reports posted on the website of her office.
Speculation about a fifth nuclear test increased last month when the North’s state media cited leader Kim Jong Un as ordering a test of a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles capable of carrying warheads.
Kim’s order came amid rising animosity with South Korea and the United States over their annual military drills that North Korea describes as an invasion rehearsal.