SEOUL, July 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Monday warned of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s readiness for its fifth nuclear test amid worries about increased activity in its main nuclear test site.
Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told a press briefing that the DPRK appeared to have been in a state of conducting another nuclear test at any time, saying the government is maintaining a full readiness and closely monitoring situations based on a close alliance between South Korea and the United States.
His comments came after Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday that increased activity has been detected in the DPRK's main Punggye-ri nuclear test site where the country carried out four underground nuclear tests since 2006.
The latest came in January this year when the DPRK claimed it detonated its first hydrogen bomb, causing the toughest-ever UN Security Council resolutions in response to the nuclear detonation as well as the launch in February of a long-range rocket, which was condemned as a disguised test of ballistic missile technology.
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