North Korea announced on Monday the completion of a successful
nuclear test, according to the official Korean Central News Agency
(KCNA).
KCNA hailed the test as "100 percent safe", adding that there
had been no radioactive leakage. This move occurred a week after
the nation announced its intention to undertake its first nuclear
test to guarantee its safety. Pyongyang declared in February 2005
it had nuclear weapons.
Although the North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement
last Tuesday, stating "it will never use nuclear weapons first,"
deep-seated concerns and denunciations came from across the
international community.
In a rapid move, the United Nations Security Council on Friday
unanimously adopted a presidential statement, urging North Korea to
return immediately to the six-party talks.
"The Security Council urges North Korea to return immediately to
the six-party talks without precondition, and to work toward the
expeditious implementation of the Sept. 19, 2005, Joint Statement,
and in particular to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing
nuclear programs," the statement said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday that a
nuclear test by North Korea would be a "very provocative" act with
Washington warning on Friday that a North Korea nuclear test would
be the "most incendiary" of events..
"It would be destabilizing to the region and could lead to
further escalation of tensions," White House deputy spokeswoman
Dana Perino said.
China urged for calm and restraint on the nuclear test
issue.
"We... hope that all relevant parties must address their
concerns through dialogues and consultations instead of taking
actions that may intensify the situation," Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement on Wednesday.
This nuclear test comes amid international focus on the Korean
peninsula.
Discussions on the North Korea nuclear issue were high on
the agenda as new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited China,
the first such visit for 5 years. Furthermore, the UN are expected
to confirm South Korean Ban Ki-Moon as the new Director-General, to
succeed Kofi Annan at the end of the year.
(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2006)