Will respond strongly in event of another North Korean nuclear test: US

In an earlier report, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said North Korea appeared to be readying for a fifth nuclear test.

Update: 2016-04-18 11:00 GMT
North Korea conducted a fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch the next month, both in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions. (Photo: AFP)

Tokyo: The United States (US) will respond strongly in the case of a further North Korean nuclear test, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.

Read: South Korea's Park says North is preparing 5th nuclear test

Blinken, who is meeting senior Japanese government officials in Tokyo, told reporters North Korea would be digging deeper into a hole if it pursued further provocations. Reclusive North Korea conducted a fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch the next month, both in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions.

In an earlier report, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said North Korea appeared to be readying for a fifth nuclear test in defiance of tightened UN sanctions imposed after its fourth test in January.

Read: Preparations in 'final stages' for N Korea nuclear test

"Signs that it is preparing a fifth nuclear test have recently been detected," Park told a cabinet meeting. Her remarks followed South Korean media reports in which unnamed government and intelligence officials spoke of a spike in activity at the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

A fresh test would see Pyongyang doubling down in the face of tough sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council, and would throw down a gauntlet to the international community as it struggles to find new ways to curb the North's nuclear ambitions.

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