Bush joins North Korea condemnation
The nuclear test is thought to have been conducted on North Korea's northeast coast
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Monday, 09, Oct 2006 07:54
George Bush has this afternoon added his voice to the international condemnation at North Korea's claim of a nuclear test.
The US president called for an "immediate response" from the UN security council after the "provocative act" which "defied the will of the international community".
North Korea's Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed that the country's first nuclear test was successfully conducted underground and resulted in no leaking of radiation.
South Korea's presidential Blue House said that the country's Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources had detected a tremor measuring 3.58 to 3.7 on the Richter scale at 10:36 local time (02:36 BST).
The seismic wave was detected in North Korea's Hamkyung province, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing intelligence officials. It said that the test had been conducted in Hwaderi, near Kilju city on North Korea's north-east coast.
And the international response has been swift, with universal condemnation of the North Koreans' actions.
British prime minister Tony Blair condemned the apparent test as "completely irresponsible" and an "act of defiance", adding: "The international community has repeatedly urged them to refrain from both missile testing and nuclear testing. This further act of defiance shows North Korea's disregard for the concerns of its neighbours and the wider international community."
And speaking at a press conference at the White House this afternoon, Mr Bush said that he had discussed the crisis with officials from South Korea, Japan, China and Russia, who all agreed that the "proclaimed actions taken by North Korea are unacceptable and deserve an immediate response from the UN security council".
He added: "These threats will not lead to a brighter future for the Korean people, nor weaken the resolve of the US and its allies to achieve the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula."
In a statement carried on KCNA early this morning, North Korea said: "It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the ... people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defence capability.
"It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the area around it," the statement added.
South Korea's president Roh Moo-hyun called an emergency meeting of his government's national security council in response to the nuclear announcement made by its neighbour.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Friday, the UN security council warned North Korea that such a test would "bring universal condemnation by the international community".
The statement added that North Korea's nuclear ambitions would "jeopardise peace, stability and security in the region and beyond".
Six-nation talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons programme stalled last year.
North Korea insists that it will not rejoin the discussions with the US, South Korea, China, Russia and Japan until Washington ends economic sanctions imposed against it.
North Korea, which declared itself to be a nuclear weapons power in February 2005, said last week that it intended to conduct a nuclear test in the future in order to "bolster" its self-defences, having accused the US of increasing hostility against it.