The defiant move raises the stakes facing the US and its allies trying to rein in the North after a rash of provocations.
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Trump spokesman Jason Miller, in a statement, described the North Korean nuclear test as “one more example of Hillary Clinton’s catastrophic failures as secretary of state”. It also follows the almost simultaneous launch of three midrange ballistic missiles that splashed down off the coast of Japan on Monday as world leaders held the G-20 summit in nearby China.
Diplomats said they hoped the pattern and frequency of North Korea’s actions would prompt a faster reaction this time.
“There is a lengthy process we are working through with (Seoul) but of course. we can always move it much more quickly”, he said.
Each of these missiles could conceivably be armed with a miniaturized nuclear warhead if North Korea develops that capability.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said yesterday she had no information to provide when asked if China had advance warning of the test, and would not be drawn on whether China would support tougher sanctions against its neighbour.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said such a nuclear test could not be tolerated.
“This unacceptable act endangers peace and security in the region and is another vivid reminder of the urgent need to strengthen the global nuclear test ban regime”, said Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister.
The U.S, will deploy a specially equipped plane to collect samples from “accessible regions of the atmosphere”, Davis said.
If the North attempts a nuclear attack, South Korea will fire multiple precision-guided missiles targeting the core of the Kim regime and send in special troops, a South Korean defense official said in a clear warning to Pyongyang. Six-nation negotiations stalled in 2009.
“All parties, including North Korea, should recognize that tumult on the peninsula, war, and instability in Northeast Asia will benefit nobody”, the commentary said. “They are preparing to bring the next US administration to the negotiation table by showing off their nuclear capabilities”.
The energy index shares, down 2.3 percent, fell along with oil prices, as the market discounted an unexpected slump in USA crude inventories as a storm glitch.
“Unless we figure out a way to deal with North Korea and stop their activity, at some point in the near future they’re going to have a relatively sophisticated nuclear arsenal that is capable of hitting the United States and that is a huge problem”, Yun said.
Clinton is getting some help from another wealthy backer as well.
The first indications of an underground explosion came when seismic monitors detected a 5.3-magnitude “artificial earthquake” near the Punggye-ri nuclear site. The U.S. Geological Survey and European agencies measured the tremor at a magnitude of 5.3.
A graph from the Incorporated Research Institute for Seismology showed more intense seismic activity than the last nuclear test generated in January, when a magnitude-4.8 quake was reported.
“We estimate the North has carried out the biggest-ever test”, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity according to department policy.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye strongly condemned the test, saying in a statement that it showed the “fanatic recklessness of the Kim Jong Un government as it clings to nuclear development”.
Under 32-year-old third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has sped up development of its nuclear and missile programs, despite UN sanctions that were tightened in March and have further isolated the impoverished country.
North Korea has been hit by five sets of United Nations sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
Even China, Pyongyang’s only ally and its economic lifeline to the outside world, said it was “resolutely opposed” to the test and warned North Korea to refrain from further actions that would worsen the situation.
President Barack Obama condemned the test and said the US would never accept the country as a nuclear power.
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“Certainly all the indications we ve seen based on the seismic activity, it s certainly consistent with a nuclear test”, Davis said.
