The New York Times:
President Park Geun-hye of South Korea reported unspecified signs on Monday that North Korea may be preparing for another underground nuclear test in defiance of United Nations sanctions.
Although Ms. Park did not say what those signs were, the South Korean news media, citing anonymous government sources, reported over the weekend that increased activity had been detected at the North’s main underground nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, in the northeast of the country. Four such tests have been conducted at the site since 2006, the latest on Jan. 6.
Ms. Park warned that North Korea may try provocations, like a nuclear test, to help consolidate internal unity in the face of international sanctions. In early March, the United Nations Security Council imposed a new round of harsher sanctions on the country as punishment for its latest nuclear test as well as its launching of a long-range rocket on Feb. 7.
Ms. Park’s warning, issued during a meeting with senior presidential aides, was among her first public remarks since her party, Saenuri, suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections on Wednesday. In that voting, widely billed as a referendum on Ms. Park’s government, Saenuri became the first governing party in South Korea to win fewer seats than the opposition in 16 years.
Some analysts have said that Ms. Park may try to highlight the threats from North Korea after the elections, using them as leverage in domestic politics to avoid becoming an early lame duck.
