TOKYO: A U.S. envoy says North Korea is playing a dangerous game with the international community by threatening a nuclear test and urged the communist nation to scrap the planned test.

Glyn Davies, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy, urged Pyongyang on Monday to return to its international obligations in abandoning its nuclear programs.

Davies met with Japanese Foreign Ministry officials in Tokyo to discuss the anticipated nuclear test, after visiting Seoul for similar talks over the weekend.

North Korea said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had ordered top security and foreign affairs officials to take "substantial and high-profile important state measures." The move fueled speculation that North Korea is going ahead with a threat to explode a nuclear device in defiance of the United Nations.