Mohamed ElBaradei  is blowing a proverbial head gasket over North Korea's apparent preparations for a nuclear weapons test.

But some are wondering if this is all part of a very high-stakes bluff by North Korea to force concessions out of the U.S.

Some excerpts from the BBC story:

Mohamed ElBaradei said a test would have "disastrous political and environmental consequences".

The warning came amid fresh reports of intelligence suggesting North Korea may be preparing to test a nuclear weapon for the first time.

Earlier Japan urged North Korea to return to six-party nuclear talks.

Pyongyang has shunned multilateral discussion of its nuclear programme for almost a year.

The New York Times reported on Friday that US officials were assessing satellite photographs that appeared to show extensive preparations for a test.

But the officials warned it could simply be a ruse by North Korea to strengthen its bargaining power with Washington.

'Zero tolerance'

Mr ElBaradei called Pyongyang's apparent escalation "nuclear blackmail".

He said North Korea needed "to understand that the international community has zero tolerance for any new country to go for a nuclear weapon".

"I hope they will not test. I hope every leader who has contact with North Korea is on the phone today with North Korean authorities to dissuade them from testing," he said.

"There could be a major environmental fallout which again could lead to dissemination of radioactivity in the region."

"So enough rituals. Now the time has come after 12 years since we reported North Korea in non-compliance to the Security Council... [for all concerned parties] urgently to bite the bullet and find a comprehensive solution and avoid this escalating nuclear danger."

The article noted that while North Korea claims to have the bomb, it hasn't been independently verified.