A North Korean diplomat claimed that Pyongyang does not have any ulterior motives behind its offer to suspend nuclear tests in exchange for halting Seoul-Washington joint military drills. 
 
The Voice of America (VOA) cited the official of the North Korean Permanent Representative to the United Nations as denying suspicion that the North made its "nuclear test-for-drills" offer with the calculation that the U.S. would reject it.  
 
On condition of anonymity, the official added that the offer does not presuppose that pushing ahead with South Korea-U.S. military drills would necessitate a nuclear test in North Korea. The official added it is premature to discuss the possibility of another nuclear test at this point.
 
Noting the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee's discussions on strengthening sanctions against his country, the North Korean official in turn raised suspicions that Washington may be aimed at cornering Pyongyang to conduct a test to worsen the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
 
The North proposed last week that it was willing to suspend nuclear tests if the United States called off annual joint military drills with South Korea, but Washington rejected the proposal as a veiled threat.