Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said on Saturday that the current activities at the site of North Korea's previous nuclear test pointed to Pyongyang’s preparations for a new one, Sputnik reported.

"Earth is being currently extracted from a tunnel where the previous nuclear test was carried out. North Korea is thoroughly preparing for the next nuclear test," Kono said, as quoted by the Kyodo news agency.

The statement comes amid the ongoing thaw in relations between the two Koreas, which started before the Winter Olympics, held in South Korea’s Pyeongchang last month, with North Korean athletes participating in the Games and the sides exchanging high-level delegations.