Israel Matzav

North Korea conducts third nuclear test, United Nations to wring its hands later Tuesday

The North said the test had "greater explosive force" than the 2006 and 2009 tests that were widely seen as small-scale. Its KCNA news agency said it had used a "miniaturized" and lighter nuclear device, indicating that it had again used plutonium which is more suitable for use as a missile warhead. The US Geological Survey registered seismic activity measuring 4.9 magnitude in the area at the time of the test.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the third of his line to rule the country, has now presided over two long-range rocket launches and a nuclear test during his first a year in power, pushing policies that have propelled his impoverished and malnourished country ever closer to becoming a nuclear weapons power.

U.S. President Barack Obama said the test was a "highly provocative act" that hurt stability in the region and called its nuclear programme a threat to U.S. and international security.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the test as "deplorable", and UN diplomats said the Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Pyongyang.

Russia's Defense Ministry said the power of the nuclear test blast Tuesday surpassed 7 kilotons, a ministry source told the Interfax-AVN military news agency.

South Korea said earlier on Tuesday that the size of the seismic activity indicated a nuclear explosion slightly larger than the North's two previous tests at 6-7 kilotons. The Hiroshima bomb was, by comparison, around 20 kilotons.

South Korea's UN mission said it called an emergency meeting of the 15-nation Security Council at 9 am EST (1400 GMT) on Tuesday to discuss the nuclear test. It added that South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan would address the media in New York after the meeting.

South Korea is the president of the council this month, which gives it the possibility to convene meetings and ensure North Korea remains a priority issue for the United Nations' most powerful body for the rest of February.

Labels: Iranian nuclear threat, North Korea, United Nations Security Council

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:49 AM