Today (Friday) the Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the nuclear test in North Korea, said to be the greatest in the history of the dictatorship.
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House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., said the test shows the USA needs to be tougher on North Korea, and blamed the Obama administration for failing to implement the sanctions options approved by Congress just this year.
The latest test too attracted flak from the rival neighbor and its allies, the U.S., Australia, France, Japan, Russia and China – the North’s major diplomatic partner.
“New Zealand has consistently been a leader in nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, most notably with the implementation of our nuclear-free policy”.
The Security Council condemned Friday’s test, calling it “a clear violation and in flagrant disregard” of previous resolutions and of the nonproliferation regime.
The North said its latest test was in response to “US hostility”, while hailing its feat that it was now capable of mounting “nuclear warheads” on ballistic rockets.
But he said China was the only country that holds sway over North Korea and urged it to intervene.
The explosion is estimated to be the strongest nuclear blast yet achieved by North Korea – and the country claims it has made a breakthrough allowing it to build lighter warheads that could arm ballistic missiles for the first time.
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, resulting in tough new United Nations sanctions.
The blast, on the 68th anniversary of North Korea’s founding, drew a fresh wave of global condemnation.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned North Korea’s fifth nuclear test as a “brazen breach” of United Nations resolutions and is urging the Security Council “to unite and take urgent actions”.
“The 10-kiloton blast was almost twice the (power of the) fourth nuclear test and slightly less than the Hiroshima bombing, which was measured about 15 kilotons”, said Kim Nam-Wook from the South’s meteorological agency.
The country has been testing different types of missiles at an unprecedented rate this year, and the capability to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile is especially worrisome for its neighbours South Korea and Japan. “China plays a critical role, too, and must meaningfully increase pressure on North Korea – and we must make sure they do”.
What North Korea’s opponents can actually do is problematic.
The UN’s chief said that he was counting on the Security Council to stay united in breaking North Korea’s accelerating spiral of escalation.
Now, Ban Ki-moon said, ” we are coming to nearly this confrontational situation”.
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Yesterday, a 5.3-magnitude tremor was detected near the Punggye-ri underground nuclear site, where the country has previously tested nuclear weapons.
