Pyongyang could hold another nuclear test

SEOUL: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) could conduct another nuclear test next year in an attempt to solidify itself as an atomic power, a news report said on Friday, citing a state-run think tank in the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said in a report that the DPRK won't give up its nuclear ambitions and could test an atomic device in an attempt to assert itself as a nuclear weapons state, according to Yonhap news agency.

The DPRK carried out its first nuclear test in 2006 and the second, more powerful test blast in May. The think tank said the second test was five times as powerful as the first one and demonstrated progress Pyongyang had made in its capabilities to build atomic bombs, according to Yonhap.