N Korea denies nuclear test plan
International desk
banglanews24.com
DHAKA: North Korea says it has no plans to conduct a third nuclear test "at present", but has hit out at what it says is provocation from South Korea.
Seoul was trying to "rattle the nerves of the DPRK in a bid to cause it to conduct a nuclear test" a foreign ministry spokesman said.
The remarks were carried by Pyongyang`s official news agency, KCNA.
They come weeks after satellite images suggested a "major upgrade" under way at North Korea`s rocket launch site.
Work at the Musudan-ri site showed "rapid progress" since mid-2011, analysis by a US institute suggested.
There has been speculation that the North will conduct a third nuclear test, after the UN Security Council tightened sanctions on Pyongyang in the wake of the North`s failed rocket launch in April.
The North responded with atomic tests in 2006 and 2009 after UN imposed sanctions against its rocket launches.
The US has warned that a nuclear test would lead to a "swift and sure response" from the region, saying any such move by Pyongyang would be "a serious miscalculation".
Pyongyang`s missile and nuclear ambitions have faced increased scrutiny in recent months, following the death of Kim Jong-il last December and installation of his son Kim Jong-un as leader. BBC
BDST: 2140 HRS, JUN 09, 2012
Edited by: Abul Kalam Azad, Newsroom Editor