The United States is urging North Korea not to pursue further provocative actions amid rumors that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct another nuclear test.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters Thursday that if the North is indeed pursuing preparations for a nuclear test, it is of obvious concern to the U.S. He said that Washington hopes the North will not take any provocative or destabilizing actions.

He said the U.S. instead urges Pyongyang to engage constructively with its neighbors, particularly South Korea, in order to establish a denuclearized peninsula that is lasting and verifiable.

Morrell said the U.S. is watching the North very closely and that it is “trying to decipher real intent in this otherwise very secretive country.”