However, based on the past reaction of Pyongyang to these sanctions it’s unlikely that it will deter Kim Jong-un from further developing the country’s nuclear program.
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He declared that the nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, “is in clear violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions and in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the global community”.
The US Air Force is expected to start flying the WC-135 Constant Phoenix Aircraft in the coming hours to take air samples and see if it can determine a nuclear event occurred. “It’s still a little way off in the future until that capacity emerges, but we should not wait until this is a real threat before we try to deal with it”.
The South Korean measurement would indicate a yield slightly smaller than the Little Boy at 10 kilotonnes, although calculating yield is hard and subject to the unknown variables in terrain and geology of the test site.
It was not clear whether Pyongyang had notified Beijing or Moscow of its planned nuclear test.
The blast had the explosive power of 10 kilotons, nearly twice as large as the previous test, said Kim Nam-wook, from South Korea’s Meteorological Administration.
NHK reported Japan’s Defense Ministry sent a plane to collect data to identify any radioactive materials in its airspace.
Carter noted that he spoke to his South Korean counterpart Han Min-koo about North Korea’s nuclear test.
“I strongly support South Korea’s nuke armament”, said one commenter in a forum on the Naver Internet portal, according to Yonhap News Agency.
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, resulting in tough new United Nations sanctions. It then conducted a test every three years or so, but broke that “thee-year cycle” with Friday’s test – the second this year, and just eight months after the previous one.
Pyongyang test-fired three missiles on Monday as world powers gathered for a G20 meeting in China, with Kim Jong-Un hailing the tests as “perfect”, and US President Barack Obama warning it would only up the pressure. Experts say they are likely aimed at refining warhead design and reliability as well as increasing yield.
In a press conference, Germany’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Steffen Seibert condemned the test and said it was an irresponsible action by North Korea to destabilise region.
Friday also marked the 68th anniversary of the founding of North Korea.
“They described this as a step that was necessary for them to mass-produce warheads for the theater, underscoring that regional powers ought to be taking this seriously”, he said.
At the meeting, ruling party lawmaker Choi Kyung-hwan underlined the need to acknowledge the grave reality that “North Korea’s nuclear weapons program can’t be destroyed with the current sanctions and pressure” and it is time to try a new tactic. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured a magnitude of 5.3.
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They also agreed to have a more “in-depth” discussion on the North’s latest nuclear test and its ramifications when they meet in Seoul on Tuesday next week, it added.
