North Korea celebrates its 55th birthday tomorrow with its first major military parade in a decade, and speculation is rife the reclusive communist state may use the occasion to showcase a new missile.
On the eve of the anniversary of its founding in 1948, North Korea's ambassador to Russia said Pyongyang saw no point in more multilateral talks on its nuclear programme, and had no option but to strengthen its deterrent, Russian agencies reported.
Ambassador Mr Pak Ui-chun's comments echoed earlier statements after six-country talks in Beijing last month to defuse a standoff with the United States over the North's nuclear plans.
But Pyongyang, whose diplomacy often combines bluster and brinkmanship, has sent conflicting signals, saying also that it still wants to resolve the dispute through dialogue.
Defence analysts and South Korean media expect North Korea to make some gesture tomorrow, but say it is unlikely to do anything that would threaten the nascent nuclear talks.
China, which helped broker the Beijing talks, sent glowing congratulations pledging support for peace and stability in the region.
Russia, which attended the talks along with North and South Korea, the United States and Japan, has sent a top envoy to the festivities, underscoring its resolve to maintain strong ties.
But South Korea cautioned its unpredictable and impoverished neighbour against raising tension on the divided peninsula.
"For North Korea's own good and the sake of peaceful negotiations, the worsening of this situation would not be right," the South's foreign minister, Mr Yoon Young-kwan, said.