VLADIVOSTOK. Feb 1 (Interfax) - The Environmental Monitoring Center of Primorye's Weather Service (Primgidromet) will be put on high alert as soon as information arrives about a possible nuclear test conducted by North Korea.
"The Environmental Monitoring Center of Primgidromet continues working as usual. Radiation levels are measured once a day," center spokesman Viktor Chulkov told Interfax on Friday.
Should information about North Korea's possible nuclear tests be received, weather service specialists will be put on high alert, he said.
"In this case, all 32 meteorological observation stations in the region will measure radiation levels either every hour or once every three hours, depending on the situation," Chulkov said.
The weather service has said that air masses could arrive in Primorye from North Korean territory only if southern or southwestern winds start to blow. The service has predicted that "safe" northern and northwestern winds will blow in Primorye within the next few days.
According to South Korean news reports, the North Korean leader ordered a nuclear test, which, some analysts anticipate, could be conducted either on February 16, the birthday of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, or on February 25, when Park Geun-hye is due to be sworn in as president of South Korea. North Korea carried out the first underground nuclear test in 2006, and another one in 2009.
Primorye is Russia's only region bordering North Korea.