US closely monitoring N. Korea but no indication of imminent nuclear test: Pentagon

This captured image shows Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary for the U.S. Department of Defense, answering questions during a daily press briefing at the Pentagon, Washington, U.S., April 3. Yonhap

The United States continues to closely monitor North Korea for signs of an upcoming nuclear test but there has been no clear indication of a test, a Pentagon spokesperson said Monday.

"We have not seen any indication right now," deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh said when asked in a daily press briefing if North Korea may conduct a nuclear test in the near future.

"Again, we continue to monitor testing and activities of the DPRK, but our end goal here is denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," she added, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), earlier said that there were indications of activity at North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site, and that the reopening of the nuclear test is "deeply troubling."

North Korea conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017.

Officials in Seoul and Washington have noted that Pyongyang appears to have completed all preparations for its seventh nuclear test and that it may conduct a nuclear test "at any time." (Yonhap)