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.
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.