US warns N Korea against second nuclear test

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday warned North Korea against conducting a second nuclear test and flatly dismissed its claim that UN sanctions imposed after its first test amounted to a declaration of war.

As US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to Asia and Russia to firm up support for enforcing those punitive measures, White House spokesman Tony Snow indicated that Washington expected Pyongyang to carry out a second test explosion.

"The North Koreans have made no secret of their desire to be provocative," he told reporters. "It would not be a good thing for them, but it certainly would not be out of character."

Asked to elaborate, Snow noted that the UN Security Council had unanimously adopted sanctions on North Korea after a first test on October 9 and added that if North Korean leaders "believe that somehow people are going to give them a pass on this, they're going to find out that they're wrong."

Snow also shrugged off Pyongyang's announcement, in one of its harshest statements in years, that it viewed UN sanctions imposed after the first test as "a declaration of war" and that it was ready for battle.

"I don't think North Korea has declared war. I think what it did is it tried to characterize the UN resolution as an act of war, which it is not," said the spokesman.

Separately, a US intelligence official said that activity detected at potential North Korean test sites could be consistent with preparations for a second nuclear test but not necessarily evidence a test is imminent.