S. Korea: No sign of imminent North Korean provocation

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says there is no sign of an imminent provocation from North Korea.

JCS Public Relations Officer Roh Jae Cheon said at a regular briefing Thursday there have been no movements which indicate the North will soon conduct a nuclear or missile test.

However, the South Korean military remains on constant alert as it believes the North's provocations could take place anytime and anywhere, Roh said.

The remarks come after CBS News reported Tuesday that missile activities were detected in the North, indicating that the regime could be "in the early stages of a launch cycle for another intercontinental ballistic missile test."

If there is a test, it would likely take place later this week or the next, the report said.

Washington officials this week have warned North Korea against staging another missile test this week, following the regime leader Kim Jong Un's New Year's address.

Kim claimed he had the ability to strike the U.S. mainland with nuclear missiles at the touch of his "nuclear button," while making an unusual outreach to South Korea.

Vincent K. Brooks, the commanding general of the U.S. Forces Korea said Thursday that South Korea and the U.S. should maintain an "ironclad and razor sharp" alliance, Yonhap reported.

During a lecture at a Seoul university, Brooks said the two allies must keep up joint combat readiness in the event that the North's peace overture leads to a "negative outcome."

He warned that the North will continue efforts to gain the status of a nuclear power, and that its unusual conciliatory gesture is likely intended to create friction between regional stakeholders- South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.

Earlier in the day, Seoul's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung Wha said South Korea is "preparing for the instance of a provocation" but remains positive about a possible a turnaround in inter-Korean relations, Hankyoreh reported.