An official from Pyongyang has reportedly said his country is planning to conduct a third nuclear test in the coming week, a news report said on Saturday.

But the Chinese Foreign Ministry told China Daily on Sunday it was "not aware" of such plans.

Joongang Ilbo Daily in Seoul quoted an unidentified official from the Republic of Korea as saying that he had heard a Democratic People's Republic of Korea official in Beijing say that "Pyongyang plans to carry out a nuclear test between Sunday and Jan 20".