UN Security Council Warns N.Korea Against Any Further Provocations

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will make a state visit to Iran from May 1 to 3 to meet President Hassan Rouhani and initiate discussions with Iran on a wide range of areas including energy and engineering, her office said on Monday.

That test, along with the launch of a satellite-carrying rocket using banned ballistic missile technology in February, led to the U.N. Security Council imposing fresh sanctions on Pyongyang.

Following various intelligence reports, South Korean officials warned on Monday that North Korea is probably preparing another nuclear test.

State TV would have touted a successful mobile missile launch as a grand triumph, but the US and South Korea say the early morning launch failed.There has been recent speculation in South Korea that its rival was preparing to test a medium-range missile that would be capable of reaching USA military installations in Japan and Guam.

Pyongyang is now gearing up for a ruling Workers Party congress in early May, where leader Kim Jong Un is likely to boast about his achievements in building a weapons programme.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s president said Monday that there are signs that North Korea is preparing for a fifth nuclear bomb test amid reports of increased activity at the country’s main nuclear test site. North Korea could conduct any abrupt provocations to escape isolation and solidify domestic loyalty following the worldwide community’s additional sanctions on Pyongyang, she said.

The remarks by spokesman Moon Sang-gyun were in response to a media inquiry on whether North Korea’s fifth nuclear test would involve a nuclear warhead.

It claimed it had miniaturised a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile and successfully tested an engine designed for an inter-continental ballistic missile that could reach the mainland US.

These punitive measures, which have the potential to impose real economic pain, include suspending currency transfers and restricting North Korea’s lucrative mineral trade that had accounted for over half of the country’s $2.5 billion in exports to China alone.

North Korea has recently launched a series of missiles and projectiles, the latest being the failed launch last Friday of what is believed to be a Musudan medium-range ballistic missile. Following the January nuclear test and a long-range missile test in February, the United Nations imposed new sanctions against North Korea.

Iran is seeking large-scale infrastructure development projects to rebuild its economy that was hampered by the worldwide sanctions, the Korean news agency reported.