North Korea is capable of detonating another nuclear device anytime at one of its unused tunnels at the country's main atomic test site, Seoul says.
The warning from a South Korean official comes three days after the North carried out its fifth bomb explosion.
The latest nuclear test was the most powerful to date and Pyongyang's claim to have used "standardised'' warheads has sparked worries it was making headway in its push to develop small and sophisticated warheads to be topped on missiles.
South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang Gyun says South Korean and US intelligence authorities believe North Korea has the ability to detonate another atomic device any time at the Punggye-ri test site, where the five previous atomic explosions took place.
Moon refused to say what specific evidence pointed to another possible North Korea test.
Yonhap news agency, citing unidentified Seoul government sources, reports there were signs the North has finished test preparations in an unused tunnel. It did not elaborate.
South Korea's military has also started talking publicly about its military capabilities, revealing it has retaliation plans involving precision-strike missiles and special operations forces for direct attacks on the North's leadership in the case of a North Korean nuclear attack.
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