U.S. President Barack Obama promised “serious consequences” following the nuclear test and called it “a grave threat to regional security”.
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Carter said the nuclear test would strengthen resolve to bolster defences in South Korea, including deployment of US THAAD anti-missile units and radars.
But Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo, also a voting member, was more cautious and said on Friday in an interview with CNBC he wanted to see more evidence of US inflation rising back toward the Fed’s 2 percent target, although he would not discount the possibility of a hike this year. India suspects Pakistan’s missile armoury has many missiles of North Korean origin and design.
So far this year, North Korea has conducted a little more than 13 rounds of ballistic-missile tests and has fired 29 various rockets.
That is twice as strong as the hydrogen bomb tested in January.
Pyongyang’s state media said the test had been successful and achieved its goal of being able to fit a miniaturized nuclear warhead on a rocket.
The White House said it is assessing the explosion near North Korea’s nuclear test site that was detected by seismic monitors, but did not confirm reports of a nuclear test.
The announcement from the Kim Jong-un government marked the second time this year the North has conducted a nuclear test and raised fears the country is a step closer to developing a nuclear-armed missile that could strike North America.
Under 32-year-old third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has sped up development of its nuclear and missile programmes, despite United Nations sanctions that were tightened in March and have further isolated the impoverished country.
The UN Security Council is meeting on Friday to discuss the tests.
Cook says a nuclear test would pose “a significant threat to the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the stability of the Asia-Pacific region”. “Today’s nuclear test, a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, makes clear North Korea’s disregard for worldwide norms and standards for behaviour and demonstrates it has no interest in being a responsible member of the global community”.
He said the seismic magnitude and surface level indicated a blast with a 20- to 30-kilotonne yield or its largest to date. China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, meanwhile, said it was monitoring radiation levels along its border with the country.
It said it would lodge a protest with the North Korean embassy in Beijing.
“It’s really great news”, said Rim Jong Su, 42.
South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that the test is believed to have taken place in the same location where North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January.
That test was followed in the spring by the first ever launch tests of the Musudan mobile ballistic missile.
“It’s China’s responsibility”, he told a news conference.
Washington also imposed unilateral sanctions that could also target Chinese and other worldwide companies involved using North Korean labor overseas, which has become a lucrative source of income for the Kim government.
Thursday’s test occurred on a national North Korean holiday that commemorated the 68th anniversary of the founding of North Korea. The latest one adopted in March imposes the most severe sanctions yet on the country, including an export ban and asset freeze. That changed this year when North Korea began testing the Musudan with often disastrous results.
The 15-nation council has adopted five resolutions to curb the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programs.
The Pentagon said it would deploy the U.S. Air Force WC-135, a modified Boeing aircraft, to collect air particles and any debris in the atmosphere and confirm the nature of the test.
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Diplomacy has so far failed.
