China could be pressed to take the strongest possible action by blocking the transportation of fuel and oil but that could have grave consequences for the general population.
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Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said North Korea’s nuclear test was “unacceptable” and would be protested.
“I heard after work that North Korea conducted a nuclear test today, but North Korea doing this is not surprising any more”, said Jeon Hyo-chul, casually sipping coffee.
Pyongyang has conducted a series of ballistic missile launches since top North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave an order on March 15 to test a nuclear warhead and ballistic rockets capable of carrying the warhead “in a short time”.
USA stocks sold off on Friday, putting the S&P 500 on pace for its worst day in over two months as investor nervousness increased following a nuclear test by North Korea and comments by Federal Reserve officials that hinted at a US interest rate hike.
Under 32-year-old leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has accelerated the development of its nuclear and missile programs, despite United Nations sanctions that were tightened in March and have further isolated the impoverished country.
China called for “restraint and moderation”, but South Korea urged the West to increase sanctions against its Northern neighbor, referring to the test as an act of “fanatic lack of responsibility”.
Largely thanks to continued business with China and Russian Federation, the North’s economy – though hardly robust – long ago emerged from the disastrous starvation years of the 1990s and now shows signs of a growing domestic consumer market, where small-time entrepreneurialism is allowed and sometimes tacitly supported by the authorities. President Barack Obama condemned the test and said the USA would never accept the country as a nuclear power. Not only has the range of the weapons jumped significantly, but the country is working to flawless new platforms for launching them – submarines and mobile launchers – giving the North greater ability to threaten the tens of thousands of US troops stationed throughout Asia.
Obama and Xi collided on THAAD and the South China Sea issue in their talks.
Concern has been growing that North Korea is testing weapons at an unprecedented pace this year, said CNN Seoul correspondent Paula Hancocks.
Closely following the late morning nuclear test, the three countries together asked for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to swiftly address the provocation. He did not say whether he had a plan to address North Korea’s claim the test will allow it to build an array of stronger, smaller and lighter nuclear weapons.
A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, Ned Price, says Washington is aware of seismic activity on the Korean Peninsula in the vicinity of a known North Korean nuclear test site. “It’s already being heavily sanctioned and there will be little room for any new sanctions that will meaningfully hurt them more, ‘” Koh said.
It was not clear whether Pyongyang had notified Beijing or Moscow of its planned nuclear test.
“If North Korea conducted a nuclear test, that can never be tolerated”. “China has and shares an important responsibility for this development and has an important responsibility to reverse it”.
“Having recently had a summit meeting with South Korea, China may find it hard to act hostile toward South Korea”.
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China opposed North Korea’s nuclear test, a key denunciation by the North’s economic lifeline and only major ally.
