UPDATE 4-North Korea and U.S near nuclear deal-reports

(Adds South Korea's foreign minister)

By Jack Kim

SEOUL, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The United States and North Korea are near an agreement to save a crumbling nuclear deal, news reports said on Friday, while South Korea's foreign minister said details of a compromise may soon be announced.

Indications of a breakthrough came as North Korea has raised the stakes by apparently making sabre-rattling moves and barring U.N. monitors from its plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium.

ABC news quoted senior U.S. officials as saying the North may be preparing for another nuclear test after it was seen moving cables and tunnelling at the site of its only previous test in October 2006.

South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo on Friday quoted government sources as saying North Korea and the United States were near an agreement on verifying Pyongyang's account of its nuclear programme that would prompt Washington to soon remove it from a list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday the Bush team looked set to provisionally remove the North from the State Department's terrorism blacklist, as early as Friday.

South Korea's foreign minister said Washington will soon make a decision that will hopefully lead to removing the North from the State Department terrorism blacklist.

"If we stall at this point, it will be difficult to jump-start the process under the new U.S. administration," Yu Myung-hwan told reporters.