[Asia News] from [The Wall Street Journal]
North Korea Tests Second Nuclear Device, Fires Short-Range Missile
By EVAN RAMSTAD
SEOUL – North Korea conducted its second test of a nuclear device Monday morning and its state media reported the explosion was bigger than the first device it tested in October 2006.
Several hours later, North Korea test-fired a short-range missile, adding to a pattern of aggressive behavior that outside analysts and diplomats believe shows the North's military is asserting more control in the country.
The developments – coming less than two months after the country tested a long-range missile – once again showed that North Korea is making progress building weapons of mass destruction and that the words and actions of other countries to date have not been able to stop its advancement.
U.S. President Barack Obama called the action a "matter of grave concern to all nations." Japan condemned the nuclear-device test as a threat to peace and stability in the region and called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council in response. Japan also delivered a letter of condemnation to North Korea's embassy in Beijing.
China, which is North Korea's biggest economic and trading partner and closest ally, did not immediately respond to the news.
In a statement, North Korea's state media said the test of the nuclear device answered "problems arising in further increasing the power of nuclear weapons." It also said the test would "contribute to defending the sovereignty of the nation."
The state media announced the nuclear-device test at noon local time, about two hours after defense monitors in South Korea detected an "artificial earthquake" in the same place where North Korea conducted its first nuclear test, a remote mountainous area of North Hamgyeong province in the country's northeast.
The South Korean monitors reported the latest test recorded a seismic reading of 4.5 on the Richter scale, compared to a reading of 3.8 for the 2006 test.
North Korea never disclosed the size of its first atomic test, though outside analysts estimated it was less than one kiloton of TNT. By contrast, the first nuclear device tested by the U.S. in July 1945 amounted to 20-kiloton of explosive.
On April 5, North Korea fired a multi-stage, long-range missile, which flew across Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. It flew farther than the two previous long-range missiles North Korea had tested, one in 1998 and the other in 2006.
In the seven weeks since then, North Korea has pulled out of six-nation aid-for-disarmament talks and kicked out international weapons inspectors. It had earlier detained with little explanation two American journalists it claims were infringing on its territory and a South Korean businessman working in an industrial park the two countries jointly run.
The aggressive behavior began last October after the North's dictator, Kim Jong Il, recovered from a stroke. Since then, succession has arisen as a major issue in Pyongyang and groups in North Korea's elite have begun jockeying for power, with military hardliners appearing to gain an edge.
U.S. officials in recent weeks have said Washington hasn't faced such uncertainty in dealing with North Korea in 15 years, when Mr. Kim was in the midst of consolidating power in the wake of the death of his father, North Korea's founder and longtime leader Kim Il Sung.
The elder Kim began the nuclear weapons program in the 1970s. North Korea has used the development of nuclear weapons to build its own military strength, drive a weapons-sale program and as a diplomatic tool for extracting economic aid and security concessions from other countries.
The development came as South Korea is coping with the suicide of former president Roh Moo-hyun, whose policy of no-questions-asked outreach to North Korea fell out of favor after Pyongyang's first test of a nuclear device.
Mr. Roh conducted a summit meeting with Kim Jong Il in October 2007, just four months before leaving office. His successor, Lee Myung-bak, won election in part by promising to take a harder line with North Korea. He ended the South's unconditional assistance to North Korea last year, a step that cost the North about $300 million in aid.
Before the nuclear test was announced, North Korea's state media said that Kim Jong Il sent a message of condolence to Mr. Roh's family.
North Korea Tests Second Nuclear Device, Fires Short-Range Missile
By EVAN RAMSTAD
SEOUL – North Korea conducted its second test of a nuclear device Monday morning and its state media reported the explosion was bigger than the first device it tested in October 2006.
Several hours later, North Korea test-fired a short-range missile, adding to a pattern of aggressive behavior that outside analysts and diplomats believe shows the North's military is asserting more control in the country.
The developments – coming less than two months after the country tested a long-range missile – once again showed that North Korea is making progress building weapons of mass destruction and that the words and actions of other countries to date have not been able to stop its advancement.
U.S. President Barack Obama called the action a "matter of grave concern to all nations." Japan condemned the nuclear-device test as a threat to peace and stability in the region and called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council in response. Japan also delivered a letter of condemnation to North Korea's embassy in Beijing.
China, which is North Korea's biggest economic and trading partner and closest ally, did not immediately respond to the news.
In a statement, North Korea's state media said the test of the nuclear device answered "problems arising in further increasing the power of nuclear weapons." It also said the test would "contribute to defending the sovereignty of the nation."
The state media announced the nuclear-device test at noon local time, about two hours after defense monitors in South Korea detected an "artificial earthquake" in the same place where North Korea conducted its first nuclear test, a remote mountainous area of North Hamgyeong province in the country's northeast.
The South Korean monitors reported the latest test recorded a seismic reading of 4.5 on the Richter scale, compared to a reading of 3.8 for the 2006 test.
North Korea never disclosed the size of its first atomic test, though outside analysts estimated it was less than one kiloton of TNT. By contrast, the first nuclear device tested by the U.S. in July 1945 amounted to 20-kiloton of explosive.
On April 5, North Korea fired a multi-stage, long-range missile, which flew across Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. It flew farther than the two previous long-range missiles North Korea had tested, one in 1998 and the other in 2006.
In the seven weeks since then, North Korea has pulled out of six-nation aid-for-disarmament talks and kicked out international weapons inspectors. It had earlier detained with little explanation two American journalists it claims were infringing on its territory and a South Korean businessman working in an industrial park the two countries jointly run.
The aggressive behavior began last October after the North's dictator, Kim Jong Il, recovered from a stroke. Since then, succession has arisen as a major issue in Pyongyang and groups in North Korea's elite have begun jockeying for power, with military hardliners appearing to gain an edge.
U.S. officials in recent weeks have said Washington hasn't faced such uncertainty in dealing with North Korea in 15 years, when Mr. Kim was in the midst of consolidating power in the wake of the death of his father, North Korea's founder and longtime leader Kim Il Sung.
The elder Kim began the nuclear weapons program in the 1970s. North Korea has used the development of nuclear weapons to build its own military strength, drive a weapons-sale program and as a diplomatic tool for extracting economic aid and security concessions from other countries.
The development came as South Korea is coping with the suicide of former president Roh Moo-hyun, whose policy of no-questions-asked outreach to North Korea fell out of favor after Pyongyang's first test of a nuclear device.
Mr. Roh conducted a summit meeting with Kim Jong Il in October 2007, just four months before leaving office. His successor, Lee Myung-bak, won election in part by promising to take a harder line with North Korea. He ended the South's unconditional assistance to North Korea last year, a step that cost the North about $300 million in aid.
Before the nuclear test was announced, North Korea's state media said that Kim Jong Il sent a message of condolence to Mr. Roh's family.
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