The man-made quake, detected by US instruments Friday at 5.3 in magnitude, was more powerful than any of the previous underground tests conducted by the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – indicating that the weapon detonated with a yield of about 10 kilotons.
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The country plans to unleash a barrage of ballistic missiles and high-explosive shells that would rain down on Pyongyang, should the North’s dictator try combating his Asian neighbors with nuclear weapons, a military source told the Yonghap News Agency in Seoul.
North Korea’s continued testing despite sanctions presents a severe challenge to Obama in the final months of his presidency and could become a factor in the United States presidential election in November.
Their stance is very much in line with a statement out of New York Friday, when the UNSC “strongly condemned” North Korea’s behavior and promised to work on a new resolution – implying that veto-wielding council member China will hold true to its word by pressuring its old ally.
Gerard von Bohemen, New Zealand’s Ambassador to the United Nations, announced after presiding over an emergency meeting of the Security Council in NY on Friday “appropriate measures” aimed at Pyongyang were being developed.
The U.N. Security Council denounced North Korea’s decision to carry out the test and said it would begin work immediately on a resolution.
South Korea said Saturday that the North’s capabilities were rapidly expanding, echoing concerns from world leaders about the latest nuclear test.
Speaking to reporters after today’s Security Council meeting, Mr van Bohemen said the nuclear test was a flagrant violation of many United Nations resolutions and a clear threat to global peace and security. Park accused Kim of “maniacal recklessness” in his pursuit of building a viable nuclear arsenal, according to her office.
A separate post also criticised US President Obama for calling the tests “provocative”.
In March, North Korea was subject to the harshest round of sanctions ever after it carried out its fourth underground nuclear test in January and launched a rocket using ballistic missile technology the following month. Ban has condemned the test and urged the Security Council, “to unite and take urgent actions”. But he said the other key players in six-party nuclear disarmament talks which North Korea quit in 2009 – China, Russia, Japan and South Korea – will remain the same.
South Korea has developed a preemptive attack plan against North Korea aiming to destroy the northern capital Pyongyang in case of a nuclear attack emanating from the north, local media said Sunday.
France’s UN Ambassador Francois Delattre said: “North Korea will have to bear the consequences of its act and provocation”. “The council must use every tool at its disposal to change North Korea’s calculus”.
The nuclear programme has accompanied a series of ballistic missile launches, the latest of which took place on Monday as world powers gathered for a G20 meeting in China.
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South Korean President Park Geun-hye said late Friday that Kim was “mentally out of control”, and added: “The patience of worldwide community has come to the limit”. Experts say they are likely aimed at refining warhead design and reliability as well as increasing yield.
