S. Korea's spy agency not ruling out possibility of further provocations

South Korea's intelligence agency says North Korea is ready to carry out another nuclear test at any time.

After a parliamentary briefing by the National Intelligence Service on Monday, lawmakers quoted the spy agency as saying that construction of the third tunnel at the North's Punggye-ri test site was complete, and work is underway on another.

The spy agency said that Pyongyang's latest test was carried out in the second tunnel.

It confirmed that the test was the most powerful to date, adding that further analysis was needed in order to determine whether it was a hydrogen bomb or an electromagnetic pulse-based bomb.

The intel agency said Pyongyang appears to be raising tensions and bolstering internal solidarity ahead of the anniversary of the regime's establishment on September 9th, adding that the regime could also launch another ICBM towards the North Pacific.

In light of the growing provocations, South Korea's defense ministry says it is considering the deployment of powerful assets, including nuclear powered aircraft carriers and strategic bombers.

During a parliamentary briefing, Defense Minister Song Young-moo said that he requested that the U.S. deploy its strategic assets to Korea on a regular basis.

Seoul's defense ministry also noted that it has detected signs of the North preparing for ballistic missile launches.

Song added that in a National Security Council session held after the North's nuke test,. top officials from South Korea agreed on the need to boost military measures rather than pursue dialogue with Pyongyang.

Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.