N.Korea may have third nuclear test

North Korean leader Kim Jong Ii's eldest son Kim Jong Un's. -- PHOTO: AP

SEOUL - NORTH Korea will probably carry out a third atomic test next year and prospects for bilateral talks with the South are slim, a research report from a South Korean foreign ministry institute said on Friday.

The regular report was published a day after Pyongyang vowed a nuclear 'sacred war' and the South held a major military drill near the border.

The North, which carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 has yet to show it has a deliverable weapon as part of its plutonium arms programme, but a third test would raise tensions further on the divided peninsula and rattle global markets.

'There is a possibility for North Korea carrying out its third nuclear test to seek improvement in its nuclear weapons production capability, keep the military tension high and promote Kim Jong Un's status as the next leader,' the report said, referring to Kim Jong Il's youngest son, Pyongyang's heir apparent.

'Tension between the two Koreas will remain high with chances of additional North Korean attacks on the South staying high. Chances of a summit meeting between leaders of the two sides look slim,' the institute said, according to a summary of the report.

The analysis for 2011 was written by the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, which is run by the Foreign Ministry. -- REUTERS