Fears N. Korea may test at weekend

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TOKYO, Japan -- Japan's top government spokesman says Tokyo is stepping up monitoring of North Korea amid speculation that the communist nation could carry out a nuclear test as early as this weekend.

"In consideration of various possibilities, we are preparing for whatever may happen," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Friday, according to The Associated Press.

The speculation comes amid reports the United Nations Security Council members have reached a tentative agreement on a Japanese-drafted statement that warns North Korea of unspecified consequences if it conducts a nuclear test.

The text, obtained by the Reuters news service, is similar to the original, and was negotiated by junior diplomats of the 15 council members. It is being sent to governments for possible changes before further discussions on Friday.

The statement urges Pyongyang to cancel its planned nuclear test and return immediately to six-party talks aimed at persuading the reclusive Communist nation to abandon its nuclear arms program, according to Reuters.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi, currently in Washington, said Japan and the United States shared concerns that the North was not bluffing about a nuclear test, and should be prepared for a possible test this weekend, a Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.

The assessment was made during Yachi's talks with White House Deputy National Security Adviser Jack Crouch and U.S. Defense Undersecretary for Policy Eric Edelman, the official said, but declined to say if they had intelligence showing evidence of North Korean nuclear activity.

"Based on the development so far, it would be best to view that a test is possible this weekend," Yachi told Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi.

Media reports have speculated that a test could come as early as Sunday, the anniversary of Kim Jong Il's appointment as head of the Korean Workers' Party in 1997.

Shiozaki declined to confirm the reports but said Japan was capable of detecting radiation in case of a test and was making sure its equipment is functioning properly, AP reports.

He did not disclose details of Japan's preparedness.

Japan has two intelligence-gathering satellites and launched a third in September that can monitor the North's nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Defense Agency officials also said Japan had boosted its intelligence gathering efforts.

On Thursday, a U.S. military plane capable of detecting radiation took off from Okinawa in southern Japan, thought to be a monitoring exercise in case North Korea carries out a test, according to media reports. U.S. military officials in Japan refused to confirm the report.

Earlier this week, the U.S. envoy to stalled North Korea nuclear talks said the United States would not tolerate a nuclear North Korea and warned Pyongyang not to test a nuclear weapon.

"We are not going to live with a nuclear North Korea," Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill told the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday. "We are not going to accept it."

North Korea "can have a future, or it can have these weapons. It cannot have both," Hill said. The U.S. and its allies "are in a very tense time" in dealing with Pyongyang, Hill added. (Watch the U.S. look into the veracity of North Korea's claim of a planned nuclear test -- 1:56 )

South Korea, meanwhile, warned North Korea's stance could trigger a regional atomic arms race that could upend the balance of power in Northeast Asia.

Any display of Pyongyang's nuclear force could prompt Japan to go nuclear and trigger a regional arms race, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. (Watch how North Korea is justifying its planned nuclear test -- 3:37 )

Speaking to lawmakers, Yu said such a North Korean nuclear test "could provide a pretext for Japan's nuclear armament."

"This will prompt countermoves by China or Russia and lead to a change in the balance of power in Northeast Asia," AP reports Yu saying.

Hill said that on Tuesday the United States passed a message "of deep concern" about a possible test to Pyongyang through the North Korean mission to the United Nations, which serves as a contact between the two governments, but did not receive an answer.

"We will do all we can to dissuade the DPRK [North Korea] from this test," Hill said.

He declined to say exactly what the United States would do if North Korea undertakes such a test, but said, "we would have no choice but to act resolutely to make sure that the DPRK understood -- and to make sure that any other country understands -- that this (nuclear test) is a very bad mistake."

If North Korea does conduct a test, it "will realize that they had a bad day when they made that choice," he said.

After his appearance, Hill told reporters, "if they think that firing off a weapon will somehow make them a part of some sort of nuclear club, they should think again."

"If they think that by exploding a weapon, that somehow we will come to terms with it, we won't," he said.

Citing U.S. belligerence and pressure, North Korea said Tuesday that a nuclear test was in the works. (Pyongyang's statement)

North Korea's announcement came in the form of a Foreign Ministry statement published by the Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA -- the communist country's official news agency.

"The field of scientific research of the DPRK will in the future conduct a nuclear test under the condition where safety is firmly guaranteed," the statement said.

The ministry added, "The U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK to conduct a nuclear test ... as a corresponding measure for defense."

A date and time for the test was not issued.

U.S. report warns of test consequences

Tuesday is the first time North Korea has made an official announcement that it is going to conduct nuclear tests. Previously, it has said it had the right to conduct such tests.

Such a scenario would significantly set back diplomatic efforts with North Korea and have serious implications for regional security, according to a U.S. House Intelligence Committee report released Tuesday.

Coming on the heels of North Korea's test firing of seven missiles, including a long-range ballistic missile in July, a nuclear test would bring Pyongyang's relations with its neighbors to a new low, the report found.

The tests might prompt not only Japan, but also Taiwan and possibly South Korea to begin their own nuclear weapons programs, the report found.

Six-party talks on the country's nuclear program have been stalled for months. In addition to the United States and North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea are taking part.

North Korea wants bilateral talks with the United States before the six-party talks resume and it wants Washington to ease up on economic pressures.

Hill repeated that the United States was willing to meet with North Korean officials, but only within the context of six-party talks.

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