N, Korea is Preparing for Fourth Nuclear Test

Further tests could also be accompanied this year by another rocket launch, the report said, quoting the source. "It's all ready. A fourth and fifth nuclear test and a rocket launch could be conducted soon, possibly this year," the source said, adding that the fourth nuclear test would be much larger than the third, at an equivalent of 10 kilotons of TNT. The news could make the world's major powers even more gun-shy about situations in the Korean peninsula after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Thursday in defiance of h global community. The Yonhap News Agency said on Thursday South Korea conducted a series of live fire military drift on the day across the country as thousands of people in North Korea held a mass rally to celebrate their "successful" nuclear test while in Japan, talking about a "preemptive military strike" has been fired up, alongside a stern warning from the United States that it was a threat and a provocation.

Japan's newly-elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Parliament on Friday that Japan would take the lead in Korea sanctions, and further moves would depend on reactions from North Korea and the global community.