British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Tuesday said that a planned nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would be a "highly provocative act."

"The international community has repeatedly urged the government of the DPRK to refrain from both missile testing and nuclear testing," she said in a statement, noting that a nuclear test would be viewed by Britain and the international community as "a highly provocative act with serious repercussions for the DPRK."

"It would also be totally incompatible with the DPRK's commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and is completely against the expressed will of the international community under UN Security Council Resolution 1695." she said.

She called on the DPRK to continue observing a moratorium on nuclear tests, saying "this is of vital importance to the peace of the region and to the cause of preventing proliferation of nuclear weapons world-wide."

The DPRK's foreign ministry announced earlier on Tuesday that it "will in the future, conduct a nuclear test under conditions where safety is firmly guaranteed," to reinforce its arsenal against what it considers to be a growing threat posed by the United States.

The statement did not give a specific date or location for the upcoming test.