U.S. Official: North Korea Tested Nuclear Weapon

[Woodmonkey]

U.S. Official: North Korea Tested Nuclear Weapon


SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea successfully tested of a nuclear weapon late Sunday night, a senior Bush administration official confirmed to FOX News.

The official said, however, that initial readings from South Korea reported only a 3.58-magnitude seismic reaction, which is smaller than what would be expected from the 4-kiloton explosion the Axis of Evil nation sought. The put the bomb's capabilities in context, a 20-kiloton explosion could conceivably kill 200,000 people.

"North Korea may not have got what they wanted," the official said.

The U.S. Geological Service, however, said it detected a 4.2-magnitude tremor at 10:35 p.m. EDT, which could mean the device was potentially deadlier than initially believed. Australia also said there was seismic confirmation that North Korea conducted a nuclear test.

"It was a success from their perspective in that they achieved a nuclear yield, though that is not very difficult," the official said. "It's within their technical capabilities."

U.S. officials told FOX News' Bret Baier that they were warned by allies in advance of the test. China reportedly received a 20-minute heads up and immediately notified officials in the U.S., Japan and South Korea.

The test is North Korea's first-ever detonation of an atomic device, but the nation as long claimed to have nuclear capabilities.

Bush administration officials say they will push for an "extremely strong U.N. resolution against North Korea that would make it illegal to transfer missile and missile-related items, materials, goods and technology for North Korean weapons of mass destruction programs."

U.S. officials say the White House will seek "much stronger punitive measures" on general trade with North Korea, although they do not believe the country's oil supplies will be targeted.

The test sparked condemnation from regional powers who said that, if confirmed, would be a serious threat to regional stability.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the underground test was performed successfully "with indigenous wisdom and technology 100 percent," and that no radiation leaked from that test site.

"It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the (Korean People's Army) and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability," KCNA said. "It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the area around it."

Japan's top government spokesman said a reported North Korean test would post a serious threat to the stability in the region and a provocation.

China, the North's closest ally, said Beijing "resolutely opposes" the North Korean nuclear test and hopes Pyongyang will return to disarmament talks.

U.S. and South Korean officials could not immediately confirm that an actual test had occurred.

The U.N. Security Council was expected to discuss the reported North Korean test Monday, and the United States and Japan are likely to press for a resolution imposing additional sanctions on Pyongyang. The council last week issued a statement condemning plans for a test.

A resolution adopted in July after a series of North Korean missile launches imposed limited sanctions on North Korea and demanded the country rejoin international nuclear talks -- a demand the North immediately rejected.

Also, South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon was expected later Monday to be nominated as the next secretary-general of the United Nations by the Security Council. Ban has said he would use the post, which he would assume after Kofi Annan's term expires at the end of the year, to press for a resolution of the North Korean nuclear standoff.

The North has refused for a year to attend international talks aimed at persuading it to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The country pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003 after U.S. officials accused it of a secret nuclear program, allegedly violating an earlier nuclear pact between Washington and Pyongyang.

The North is believed to have enough radioactive material for about a half-dozen bombs, using plutonium from its main nuclear reactor located at Yongbyon, north of the capital Pyongyang.

The North also has active missile programs, but it isn't believed to have an atomic bomb design small and light enough to be mounted on a long-range rocket that could strike targets as far as the U.S.

If confirmed, the North would be the ninth country in the world known to have nuclear weapons. The other countries are the United States, Russia, France, China, Britain, India, Pakistan and Israel.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun was holding an emergency meeting Monday of top security officials, and Seoul was consulting with allies on intelligence about the reported test, presidential spokesman Yoon Tae-young said.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said the alert level of the military had been raised in response to the claimed nuclear test.

The test came amid intense diplomatic efforts aimed at heading off the move.

Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, arrived Monday in Seoul for meetings with President Roh Moo-hyun that had been intended to address strains in relations between Japan and South Korea over territorial and historical disputes, but was overshadowed by news of the nuclear test.

"We must collect and analyze information to determine whether North Korea actually conducted the test," Abe told reporters upon his arrival.

On Sunday in Beijing, Abe and Chinese President Hu Jintao had pledged to work together to avert a North Korean test.

The Source


South Korean Stocks Plunge After Reported North Korea Nuclear Test


Raw Data: North Korean Statement on Alleged Nuke Test

[Woodmonkey]

Top gov't spokesman calls reported NKorean nuclear test a "threat and provocation"

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki tells reporters Japan's response to reports of a North Korean nuclear test on Monday. (Mainichi)

North Korea's nuclear test, if confirmed, is a serious provocation and a threat to global stability, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Monday as officials discussed how Tokyo should respond.

The top government spokesman said the government has set up a task force to discuss the situation and that the Meteorological Agency is analyzing data to determine if Pyongyang has truly conducted its first-ever nuclear weapon test.

"We are doing all we can to confirm facts," Shiozaki said at a hastily called press conference in Tokyo, adding that the government is considering its response.

He said the test, if confirmed, presents a "serious threat not only to our country, but also to Northeast Asia as well as international society."

The reported test is a "serious provocation" to the nuclear nonproliferation system, Shiozaki said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Seoul when Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency announced North Korea had successfully tested a nuclear weapon underground early Monday. Abe is scheduled to attend his first summit meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun later in the day.

Abe said more information was needed to confirm if the test truly took place.

"We must collect and analyze information to determine whether a test was actually held," Abe told reporters after landing in South Korea. "We will continue to coordinate our response with the South Koreans."

Kyodo News agency reported that the Chinese government notified Japanese officials about the test at around 11 a.m. (0200 GMT), citing unnamed Japanese officials. (AP)

Top gov't spokesman calls reported NKorean nuclear test a "threat and provocation" - MSN-Mainichi Daily News

[RAMESES the Great]

North Korea Says Nuclear Test Successful
By BURT HERMAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour ago

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Monday it had performed its first nuclear weapons test, an underground explosion that defied international warnings but was hailed by the communist nation as a "great leap forward" for its people.

The reported test drew harsh rebuke from North Korea's neighbors. The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the North Korean issue on Monday, and the United States and Japan are likely to press for a resolution imposing additional sanctions on Pyongyang.

The U.S. Geological Survey said it had recorded a magnitude-4.2 seismic event in northeastern North Korea. Australia and South Korea also said there was seismic confirmation that pointed to a nuclear test.

However, Japan said it could not immediately confirm the test.

North Korea's nuclear test was equivalent to 550 tons of TNT, a state-run South Korean geological institute said. That is relatively small compared to the bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima, which was equivalent to 12,500 tons of TNT.

Although North Korea has long claimed it had the capability to produce a bomb, the reported test Monday, if confirmed, would be the first proof of its membership in a small club of nuclear-armed nations. That would dramatically alter the strategic balance of power in the region and seriously undermine global anti-proliferation efforts.

The test Monday morning came a day after the ninth anniversary of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's appointment as head of the Korean Workers' Party. Tuesday will be the 61st anniversary of the party's founding.

The North warned last week it would conduct a nuclear test, sparking frantic diplomatic efforts to head it off.

Condemnation of North Korea from world powers came swiftly after the test was announced.

"A North Korean nuclear test would constitute a provocative act in defiance of the will of the international commuity and of our call to refrain from actions that would aggravate tensions in Northeast Asia," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

"We expect the U.N. Security Council to take immediate actions to respond to this unprovoked act," he said. "The United States is closely monitoring the situation and reaffirms its commitment to protect and defend our allies in the region."

China, the North's closest ally, said Beijing "resolutely opposes" the test and hopes Pyongyang will return to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks.

Japan's top government spokesman said if confirmed, the North Korean test would post a serious threat to the stability in the region and a provocation.

South Korea's presidential spokesman says Seoul will "sternly respond" to North Korea nuclear test and the Defense Ministry raised the military alert level.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the underground test was performed successfully and there was no dangerous radioactive leakage as a result of the underground test.

North Korean scientists "successfully conducted an underground nuclear test under secure conditions," the KCNA report said, adding this was "a stirring time when all the people of the country are making a great leap forward in the building of a great prosperous powerful socialist nation."

"It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the ... people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability," the KCNA statement went on to say. "It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the area around it."

South Korean intelligence officials said the seismic wave had been detected in North Hamkyung province, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. It said the test was conducted at 10:36 a.m. (9:36 p.m. EDT Sunday) in Hwaderi near Kilju city on the northeast coast, citing defense officials.

An official at South Korea's seismic monitoring center confirmed a magnitude-3.6 tremor felt at the time North Korea said it conducted the test was not a natural occurrence. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition his name not be used, because he was not authorized to talk about the sensitive information to the media.

Australia also said there was seismic confirmation that North Korea conducted a nuclear test.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was skeptical as he arrived for a summit in South Korea.

"We must collect and analyze information to determine whether a test was actually held," he said.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun convened a meeting of security advisers over the issue, Yonhap reported, and intelligence over the test has been exchanged between concerned countries.

Kyodo News agency reported that the Japanese government has set up a taskforce in response to reports of the test.

The North has refused for a year to attend six-party international talks aimed at persuading it to disarm. The country pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003 after U.S. officials accused it of a secret nuclear program, allegedly violating an earlier nuclear pact between Washington and Pyongyang.

A U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in July after a series of North Korean missile launches imposed limited sanctions on North Korea and demanded that the reclusive communist nation suspend its ballistic missile program _ a demand the North immediately rejected.

The resolution bans all U.N. member states from selling material or technology for missiles or weapons of mass destruction to North Korea _ and it bans all countries from receiving missiles, banned weapons or technology from Pyongyang.

Speculation over a possible North Korean test arose earlier this year after U.S. and Japanese reports cited suspicious activity at a suspected underground test site.

South Korean and Chinese envoys to North Korean disarmament talks prepared Monday to confer on North Korea's announcement that it had conducted a nuclear test.

South Korea's envoy, Chun Yung-woo, was on a plane to Beijing when North Korea made its announcement. Upon his arrival in Beijing, Chun said he was caught unaware and wanted first to consult with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, before commenting.

The South Korean and Japanese leaders were expected to meet in Seoul on Monday to discuss how to resolve the nuclear impasse and repair soured ties between their countries.

On Sunday in Beijing, Abe held summit talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and they pledged to work to persuade North Korea to call off the test and rejoin the six-nation talks.

South Korean stocks plunged Monday following North Korea's announcement of the test. The South Korean won also fell sharply. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, fell as low as 1,303.62, or 3.6 percent.

Markets in South Korea, the world's 10th-largest economy, have long been considered vulnerable to potential geopolitical risks emanating from the North. The two countries, which fought the 1950-53 Korean War, are divided by the world's most heavily armed border.

[The_Federalist]

China is pissed off. They desire nothing more than to maintain the status quo on the post-war Korean peninsula. Nothing makes their job harder than a Nuclear armed North Korea.

China wants to keep a buffer state between them, and Democratic South Korea (and its closest military ally the United States), and they are willing pay billions for it. The 2 million Soldiers of the North Korean Army are a proxy for China, a surrogate Army that stands watch against South Korea, Japan and the US.

International Aid in the form of rice and oil are just but all that North Korea needs to sustain itself. Most of that aid comes from China, South Korea, and Japan. Without outside aid North Korea is not a viable state.

No more matter how strong a hold the government of Pyongyang has on its population, a starving populace won’t stand idle forever. The last thing China wants storming across its borders is a million North Korean refugees, and a destabilized government to its south with atomic bombs.

So China will talk tough about North Korea, they might even support a UN resolution against them (almost certainly watered down and unenforceable). But in the end it still has no option but to continue to feed the monster it has created.

And the US and its allies have no other choice but to sit back and watch, because right now the only real option, other than increasing already ineffective sanctions, is the nuclear annihilation of North Korea.

[Shooterman]

[Sarcasm on]SO, WHEN DO WE GO TO WAR? 'TIS FIGHTING TIME!

Time to go do some serious arse whupping on the little squirt with the big ego.[/Sarcasm off]

[Caldric]

If they even had a real test. I will believe it when I see actual proof.