South Korea’s Defense Ministry is continuously monitoring movements at North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site even though the seventh congress of the North’s ruling party ended on Monday.
 
Ministry Spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told reporters on Thursday that the North could carry out a nuclear test at any time. He said preparations at the Punggye-ri site for another test have been completed, adding that South Korean and U.S. military authorities are continuously watching the North.
 
On North Korean leader Kim Jong-un mentioning during the party congress the need for inter-Korean military talks, Moon said that the conditions and environment for talks currently have not been created, reiterating that there is no change in Seoul’s stance.
 
On the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD) to South Korea, Moon said Seoul and Washington are carrying out discussions on the matter.
 
On some media reports that U.S. Forces Korea(USFK) is pursuing tests on the Zika virus, Moon said the stories were misinterpreted. He said the USFK is mulling boosting the capabilities of its equipment to detect the mosquito-borne virus.