given Pyongyang's apparent desire to take advantage of the ongoing leadership transition in the South.

Lee will be formally replaced as president by the newly elected Park Geun-Hye on February 25.

"The government urges North Korea to immediately stop all provocative statements and actions and abide by international obligations including U.N. Security Council resolutions," the statement said.

"If the North miscalculates and commits a provocative act again, it would face various serious consequences", it added.

North Korea has threatened to carry out its third nuclear test in response to U.N. sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for its long-range rocket launch in December.

It has also warned of "physical counter-measures" against the South if Seoul "directly participates" in the U.N. sanctions.

North Korea said its rocket launch was a scientific mission aimed at placing a satellitein orbit, but most of the world saw it as a disguised ballistic missile test. South Korea staged a satellite launch on Wednesday.

(RIA Novosti) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has issued a secret order to put the country under martial law in preparation for a third nuclear test in its history, a South Korean newspaper reported on Thursday.

How could that possibly differ from everyday North Korean totalitarian rule?

Kim Jong-un convened an emergency meeting with top defense and security officials last Saturday and supposedly said: "The country will be under martial law starting from midnight on January 29, and all the frontline and central units should be ready for a war," Korean Joongang Daily reported, citing an unidentified source.

The paper also speculated that the new nuclear test could