Nations step up efforts to halt nuke test

SOUTH KOREA and Russia were yesterday stepping up efforts to prevent North Korea from carrying out a nuclear test.

The president of South Korea reportedly ordered his government to send a “grave warning” to North Korea about the consequences of a nuclear test, while Russia said it was trying to dissuade Pyongyang from conducting it.

Japan’s Kyodo News agency said a US military plane capable of detecting radiation took off from southern Japan, believed to be part of US efforts to monitor signs of a North Korean test.