UPDATED 16:22 PM EST, January 24, 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) — North Korea's plan to conduct a third nuclear test is "needlessly provocative" and will only increase its isolation, the White House said Thursday, as the U.S. expanded its financial sanctions against the north Asian country.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he's seen no outward sign that North Korea will follow through soon on its plan to conduct a test — following its underground atomic explosions in 2006 and 2009.
But that doesn't mean preparations aren't under way.
