TOKYO, Jan 24 (KUNA) -- South Korea said Monday it is closely monitoring North Korea's nuclear and missile activities after Pyongyang hinted last week at lifting its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, Yonhap News Agency reported.
"The government is following North Korea's nuclear and missile activities under close South Korea-US coordination," a Unification Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying at a press briefing in Seoul.
On Wednesday, North Korea held a politburo meeting of its ruling Workers' Party, presided over by leader Kim Jong-un, and decided to consider restarting "all temporally-suspended" activities, citing Washington's "hostile policy" against the country.
Asked about a news report that the North appears to be maintaining its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, which it is said to have dismantled in 2018, the spokesman declined to confirm "detailed intelligence matters on North Korea's nuclear facilities." "The government is preparing for all possibilities in cooperation with relevant agencies and countries," he said. Tensions have ratcheted up on the Korean Peninsula in recent weeks after the North conducted four missile tests -- including two of what it claims to be a hypersonic missile -- since the start of the year, the report added. (end) mk.mt