Obama said he consulted with the leaders of South Korea and Japan and agreed to work to vigorously implement existing sanctions and to take additional significant steps, including new sanctions.
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“Our nuclear scientists staged a nuclear explosion test on a newly developed nuclear warhead at the country’s northern nuclear test site”, a North Korean TV presenter said.
India on Friday condemned a nuclear test conducted by North Korea, its most powerful ever, describing it as a matter of “grave concern” that the country had violated its global obligations.
According to South Korea’s ministry of national defense, it was the most powerful missile ever tested by Pyongyang.
He added that the President would “ensure provocative actions from North Korea are met with serious consequences”, saying that Obama would be consulting American allies and partners as the situation unfolds.
The US retains some 28,500 ground troops in the Korean Peninsula, and is still technically in a state of war with North Korea from the last Korean War.
“This test, coming hard on the heels of a missile launch a few days ago, shows North Korea is proceeding with a unsafe escalation of weapons that directly threatens countries in the region”. But on Tuesday, after reports of a North Korea missile test, Corker was also warning that the Obama administration had failed to sanction the country as much as it could.
“We call upon North Korea to comply with its worldwide obligations, take concrete steps toward denuclearization and re-engage in meaningful negotiations for a peaceful political solution”, the statement read.
US intelligence estimated the first North Korean test, in October 2006, produced an explosion equal to less than 1 kiloton or the equivalent of under 1,000 tons of TNT. United Nations sanctions forbid North Korea from testing missile and nuclear technology.
“This is yet another brazen breach of the resolutions of the Security Council”, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement.
“The important thing is that five tests in, they now have a lot of nuclear test experience”. In March, the Security Council tightened sanctions to further isolate the impoverished country after its fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February.
Earlier on Friday, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said the Security Council should collectively condemn Pyongyang’s activities and discuss possible response measures.
The UN Security Council is set to hold a closed-door meeting on Friday afternoon on the latest nuclear test conducted by the DPRK.
“North Korea stands out as the only country to have tested nuclear weapons this century”, Obama said.
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North Korea says it will not give up on its nuclear “deterrence” unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward Pyongyang and dissolves the US-led command in South Korea.
