S. Korea: No Sign North Testing Nukes

South Korea said Friday it has no clear evidence suggesting that communist North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test, responding to a news report citing a U.S. official as saying that intelligence showed possible signs of an upcoming test.

"I haven't heard that we have confirmed clear evidence that North Korea is pursuing a nuclear test," Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok told lawmakers at a committee hearing.

Lee said there is frequent speculation about the North's nuclear program, but that not all of it turns out to be true.

"We are closely monitoring North Korea's activities related to the nuclear program and missiles," he said.

Lee Yong-joon, head of the South Korean Foreign Ministry's task force on the North Korea nuclear issue, said South Korea was monitoring movements in North Korea in close cooperation with the United States. He declined to comment directly on the report about a possible test, citing protocol.

The United States and South Korea "share all intelligence and evaluations" related to North Korean movements, Lee told The Associated Press.

South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, also declined to comment directly on the report.

"We cannot specifically confirm the report as it is an intelligence matter," a spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

The comments came after the U.S. television network ABC quoted an unidentified State Department official as saying a North Korean nuclear test was "a real possibility."

The report also cited an unidentified senior U.S. military official as saying that a U.S. intelligence agency recently had seen "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected test site, including the unloading of reels of cable outside an underground facility in northeast North Korea.

Such cables are connected to outside monitoring equipment and could be a possible sign of an upcoming test. The report said the White House was told about the intelligence last week.

The White House declined to confirm the report, but an official there who refused to be identified said Washington's position was that a "North Korean nuclear test would be an extremely provocative action that would draw universal condemnation from the international community."

In Tokyo, Japanese Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga said he was aware of the report but it was too early to comment.

"At the moment, I cannot comment anything specific," Nukaga was quoted as telling Japanese reporters. He said Japan has been gathering various information since around the time of Pyongyang's missile firing last month, and "will continue to collect information and respond appropriately."

North Korea has claimed to have nuclear weapons, but has not conducted any known test that would confirm it has been able to successfully build an atomic bomb. A June report from the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said the North had enough radioactive material to build between four and 13 bombs.

U.S. officials said in May 2005 that they detected possible signs of a nuclear test, citing construction of a tunnel and a reviewing stand, but nothing more happened at that time.

The North test-fired seven missiles last month over international objections, drawing U.N. Security Council sanctions. No progress has been made since then on the impasse, and the North has refused to return to international talks on its nuclear programs that have been stalled since November.

A researcher with links to the South Korean intelligence community said Friday that "caution is needed" when dealing with observations of activity inside North Korea because their intentions are often unclear, declining to comment directly on the latest report.

He said it was too early to say whether a test was imminent from a single piece of information, noting that equipment to measure radioactivity and seismic activity, as well as excavators, would have to be in place for a nuclear test.

Also, people would have to be evacuated from near the possible test site, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his position.

North Korea's state-run media had no mention of the report. However, the country's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland argued Friday in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that Washington was hypocritical for demanding the North disarm, because the U.S. military has stockpiled depleted uranium shells for its troops based in South Korea.

U.S. military spokesman David Oten acknowledged troops were equipped with depleted uranium armaments, but noted they were simply a heavy metal and not a nuclear weapon. Some 29,500 U.S. troops are based in South Korea.