Chinese media say North Korea could conduct a third nuclear test in response to growing pressure from South Korea and the United States resulting from the sinking of South Korea’s “Cheonan” warship.

The state-owned China News Service made the forecast based on the precedent of the North's first nuclear test in 2006, which followed U.S. financial sanctions imposed the previous year.

The report also cited speculations about the effectiveness of additional sanctions on the North and the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills in realizing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The report expressed concerns about future security breaches on the peninsula if confrontation among Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington continues to escalate.