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South Korea has warned that the North could be planning a fourth nuclear test to ramp up tensions ahead of President Barack Obama’s forthcoming visit to Seoul.

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“Our military is currently detecting a lot of activity in and around the Punggye-ri nuclear test site,” said Kim Min-seok, a spokesman for the defence ministry.

“North Korea is at a stage where it can conduct a surprise nuclear test at any time depending on the decision of leader Kim Jong-un,” he said. The military is aware the movement at the site could be a bluff, he added.

South Korean President Park Geun Hye sought China’s help Wednesday in dissuading North Korea from any nuclear test, after signs of preparations at the North’s test site.

She discussed the activity at the Punggye-ri site with Chinese President Xi Jinping over the phone and asked him to try to persuade Kim Jong-un’s regime not to conduct a test, her office said in a statement today on its website.