RIGA, May 7: The United States said on Saturday it had a “robust” ability to deter North Korea in the face of worries that the reclusive state might be planning to test a nuclear weapon. Saying that such a test would be provocative, the White House had tough rhetoric for Pyongyang hours after Asian and European foreign ministers meeting in Kyoto issued a statement of concern.

“We have a robust deterrent capability and no one should mistake what our capability is,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters during a visit by President George W. Bush to Latvia.

“We do have concerns about North Korea,” he said. “It is shared by our partners in the region. North Korea would only further isolate itself if it took such a provocative step.”

Mr McClellan urged North Korea to return to the six-party talks with the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia, which have been stalled for almost a year, with recent efforts to restart them showing little progress.

“We are working with our partners in the region to get North Korea to come back to the talks and be prepared to move forward in a serious way,” McClellan said.

North Korea said in February it had nuclear weapons. A US defence official in Washington said on Friday that US spy satellite images had shown what may be preparations for an underground nuclear test, although he warned that this also might be an elaborate ruse by the North Koreans.

A statement issued by foreign ministers attending a two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Japan urged the North to return to the six-way talks “without any further delay” and said it needed to “make a strategic decision so as to achieve the denuclearisation of the (Korean) peninsula in a peaceful manner through dialogue”.—Reuters