SEOUL, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- North Korea seems to be preparing for its fourth nuclear test to divert attention from the execution its leader's uncle, a South Korean lawmaker said.
Rep. Chon Won-jin, a ranking member of South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee, told a Tuesday meeting of his ruling Saenuri Party there are signs the North is getting ready to conduct its next nuclear test and also for a long-range rocket launch, but no details were available, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Cho warned the tests are designed to shift domestic attention from last week's execution of Jang Song Thaek, the powerful uncle of the country's leader Kim Jong Un for fears the execution could create instability, Yonhap said.
Cho's comment follows a similar warning last month by South Korean Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo that North Korea was believed to be ready any time to conduct a nuclear test at its Punggye-ri test site in the northeast.
The North's previous three nuclear tests were in 2006, 2009 and in February of this year. It has also launched a number of long-range rockets, which South Korean experts say they suspect could be tied to developing nuclear-capable missiles. The North maintains its rocket launches are for peaceful purposes.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye warned Monday the North could resort to "reckless provocations" and urged her government and the military to be prepared for any contingency, Yonhap said.
