North Korea is continuing to stoke tensions with a fourth nuclear missile test, which comes as the regime may be looking to carry out war on a different battlefield - the internet.
South Korea's point man on North Korea, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae, told a parliamentary committee today that 'there is such an indication' that the country is preparing to launch another test missile, according to two ministry officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ryoo was answering a lawmaker's question about increased personnel and vehicle activities at the North's nuclear test site.
Provocative act: North Korea is said to be preparing a fourth nuclear missile test, a new incendiary action amid tensions with South Korea and the U.S.
Ministry officials cite Ryoo as telling the lawmakers he wouldn't provide further details because they involve confidential intelligence affairs.
South Korean defense officials previously said the North completed preparations for a nuclear test at two underground tunnels. The North used one tunnel for its February 12 nuclear test.
The second remains unused.
North Korea's warning last week followed weeks of war threats and other efforts to punish South Korea and the U.S. for ongoing joint military drills, and for their support of U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear aspirations.
The Pentagon has strengthened missile defenses and made other decisions to combat the potential threat.
U.S. Gen Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, said yesterday that he doesn't believe North Korea will engage in military action soon, 'but I can't take the chance that it won't.'
Troubling test: North Korea's warning last week followed weeks of war threats and other efforts to punish South Korea and the U.S. for ongoing joint military drills
Dempsey said the U.S. has been preparing for further provocations or action, 'considering the risk that they may choose to do something' on one of two nationally important anniversaries - April 15, the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, and April 25, the creation of the North Korean army.
Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un's regime may be preparing to launch cyber attacks against the South and the U.S.
North Korea, which has a reported 3,000 hackers in its cyberterrorism network, is believed to have been targeting various South Korean media and banking sites in recent weeks.
Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center, told The Daily Caller: 'Defectors from the unit told South Korean intelligence officials that North Korea sends hackers to other countries for training as well as to conduct undercover operations.'
Klingner added that the North has 'very strong cyberterrorism capabilities.'
Seoul and Washington are taking the threats seriously, though they say they have seen no signs that Pyongyang is preparing for a large-scale attack.
Threats: Kim Jong Un's regime may be preparing to launch cyber attacks against the South and the U.S.
In addition, the U.S. said last week that two of the Navy's missile-defense ships were moved closer to the Korean Peninsula, and a land-based missile-defense system is being deployed to the Pacific territory of Guam later this month.
The Pentagon last month announced longer-term plans to strengthen its U.S.-based missile defenses.
The U.S. military also is considering deploying an intelligence drone at the Misawa Air Base in northern Japan to step up surveillance of North Korea, a Japanese Defense Ministry official said Sunday.
Three Global Hawk surveillance planes are deployed on Guam and one of them is being considered for deployment in Japan, the official said on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak about the issue.
North Korea successfully shot a satellite into space in December and conducted its third nuclear test in February.
It has threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the United States, though many analysts say the North hasn't achieved the technology to manufacture a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the U.S.
Preparing for war: The North has threatened to launch a nuclear attack on America, though analysts say it doesn't have the technology to make one that could fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the U.S.