[sarahw]

North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test

North Korea says it carried out an underground nuclear explosion Monday. News of the nuclear test immediately drew a chorus of condemnation in Asia and around the world.

The United States said North Korea has engaged in a provocative act in defiance of the international community.

South Korea, whose forces exchanged gunfire with North Korean troops across the Demilitarized Zone Saturday, raised its military alert level soon after the nuclear test was announced.

The North Korean news agency gave few specific details about the nuclear explosion, apart from saying it was a successful test and that there was no radioactive leak in the area.

South Korea says it will respond "sternly" to North Korea's action. A spokesman for South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun says the Seoul government will not tolerate a nuclear-armed North.

Mr. Roh has convened an emergency security meeting in Seoul to discuss the issue.

South Korea and the United States say seismological instruments detected a earthquake-like tremor in North Korea at the time (0136 UTC) the test is said to have been conducted.

Pyongyang said last week that it intended to test a nuclear weapon to bolster its defenses against what the communist state calls U.S. hostility.

AP, AFP and Reuters.

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Edited by sarahw, 10 October 2006 - 03:45 AM.

[sarahw]

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Edited by sarahw, 10 October 2006 - 03:45 AM.

[harrythook]

It will be interesting to see how the international community responds to this. I believe that the key player will be China, as they are the primary provider of goods and funds to North Korea. If there is any chance to slow this process down, it would be brought about by the Chinese govt.
The biggest fear related to the nuclear programs that the N. Koreans are developing is, they have a product that a lot of bad people want. As it is, N. Korea is isolated from the international community, and sanctions have not and will not work. Short of direct intervention (we don’t need anymore of that) there is no method to stop the production of nuclear weapons. You can cut the cord (fuel, medicine, food) but this would only give the North just another reason to sell off the technology and/or actual weapons. Scary enough that they might toss one of those around over there, but give it to the wacko’s that have the money and desire to destroy the world. Not a good picture.
If the test was actually real, and I believe it was, there may be a new cold war (or not so cold) on the horizon.
Just another sad day in modern history.

[warriorscot]

Unfortunately for N. Korea they are totally surrounded by people they have hacked off so getting anything like that out to actually sell would be difficult for them.

The Chinese are pretty annoyed and have allready spoken in favour of imposing sanctions on N. Korea.