The government is preparing to issue the highest level of alert required for a nuclear power plant accident abroad if North Korea undertakes an underground nuclear test, government sources said Saturday.
The response would be comparable to that of a major earthquake or other large-scale natural disaster within Japan, because of the possibility of radiation reaching this country, the sources said.
If it is determined that Pyongyang has detonated a nuclear bomb, the government will declare an "emergency situation" and a task force will be set up at the Prime Minister's Official Residence, they said.