Reports: South Korea monitoring movements at North's suspected nuclear site

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean and U.S. officials are trying to confirm whether recent movements at North Korea's suspected nuclear testing site indicate the reclusive regime is planning another test blast, news reports said Saturday.
Seoul is keeping a close watch on the movement of trucks and soldiers at the Punggye-ri site in the country's remote northeast, Yonhap news agency reported, citing several unidentified military officials.

"It is clear there are movements at Punggye-ri after the (previous) nuclear test," one military official was quoted as saying. "We are closely monitoring to see if these are preparations for a second nuclear test."

Another official confirmed activities at the site, but said another test "is not believed to be imminent," according to Yonhap.

Meanwhile, an unidentified South Korean official said intelligence agencies had detected a new building being erected at the suspected nuclear site, the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported Saturday.

"Intelligence agencies from South Korea and the United States are trying to confirm whether this new building is connected to another nuclear test," the official was quoted as saying.

It was not immediately clear how the officials first spotted the activity at the site. However, the United States and South Korea generally share intelligence information from satellite images.

South Korea's Defence Ministry said it could not confirm the reports, and the U.S. State Department refused to comment. A Pentagon spokesman, Air Force Maj. David Smith, said, "We don't discuss intelligence issues as a matter of policy."

Alleged suspicious activity has been reported at the North Korean site several times since its Oct. 9 underground nuclear test. South Korean officials have said they have received no intelligence reports suggesting that another test is imminent.

The news came a day after the incoming UN secretary-general, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, met with Chinese leaders to discuss sanctions against the North. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it had no information about the outcome of the talks.

Seoul and Beijing have been reluctant to enforce a UN Security Council resolution that calls for sanctions on the North, fearing they might aggravate their volatile neighbour and destabilize the region.

© The Canadian Press, 2006