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International News Updates |
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26 May 2009 North Korea has test-fired two
short-range missiles, reports say, a day after the
country triggered international condemnation by
conducting an underground nuclear test.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted government
officials in Seoul as saying the tests on Tuesday took
place near the east coast city of Hamhung and involved
one ground-to-air and one ground-to-ship missile.
If confirmed, the launches would be the fourth fired
this week and come amid a dramatic escalation in
tensions on the Korean peninsula following Monday's
underground nuclear test.
That test was swiftly condemned by the UN, with the
Security Council unanimously labelling it a "clear
violation" of a 2006 resolution passed after
Pyongyang's first atomic detonation.
"The members of the Security Council have decided to
start work immediately on a Security Council
resolution on this matter," the body said in a
statement after holding crisis talks on Monday.
At the White House, the US president also condemned
the test as "reckless" and pledged to take action in
response to the underground blast, which was said to
be 20 times more powerful than the 2006 test.
"North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile
programmes pose a grave threat to the peace and
security of the world, and I strongly condemn their
reckless action," Barack Obama told reporters.
Obama called the test "a blunt violation of
international law" and said Pyongyang had reneged on
its commitment to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
He was later reported to have phoned the leaders of
Japan and South Korea to assure them of the US's
"unequivocal commitment" to their defence.
South Korea meanwhile has announced that it will
formally join a US-led initiative to intercept ships
suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction - a
move seen as likely to compound tensions in the
region.
North Korea has previously warned that it would view
the South's membership of the of Proliferation
Security Initiative as tantamount to "a declaration of
war".
'Price to pay'
The UN talks were preceded by a "P5 + 2" session
between the five permanent members of the security
council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US -
plus Japan and South Korea.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, also joined
widespread international criticism of the test, saying
he was "deeply disturbed" by reports it had taken
place.
"They should have come to the dialogue table and
resolved all the issues through peaceful means," he
said.
Following the UN talks, several diplomats hinted that
they would push for fresh sanctions against North
Korea under a new resolution.
"This resolution should include new sanctions in
addition to those already adopted because such
behaviour should have a cost and a price to pay,"
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the French deputy permanent
representative, told reporters.
Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, said
Washington would seek "a strong resolution", calling
the test "a grave violation of international law, and
a threat to regional and international peace and
security".
Rice, however, stopped short of mentioning possible
sanctions.
John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the UN during
the administration of George Bush, told Al Jazeera the
US needed to respond to the test using "strong
measures".
"I think we should conclude from this that North Korea
is not going to be talked out of its nuclear programme,"
Bolton said.
"I would recommend economic sanctions along the lines
of those imposed on Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait
in 1990... I believe this is a case that calls for
North Korea to be expelled from the United Nations for
persistent violations of its charter."
Bolton also said the US should "return North Korea to
the list of state sponsors of terrorism".
Diplomacy stalled
China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US have been
negotiating since 2003 to persuade the North to
abandon its nuclear weapons work in exchange for
energy and security guarantees.
The six-party talks led to a 2007 agreement under
which the North said it would dismantle its nuclear
facilities, but the deal stalled during disagreements
over verification.
In April, North Korea fired a three-stage rocket that
it said launched a satellite into orbit, although the
US has said it believes the launch was a cover for a
test of the North's long-range missile technology.
The launch triggered condemnation from the Security
Council, in turn provoking an angry reaction from the
North, which said it was pulling out of nuclear
disarmament talks and restarting its weapons programme.
Explosive yield
The exact size of North Korea's latest nuclear test
has not been confirmed, although state media in its
official announcement said it had been on "a higher
level in terms of its explosive power" than the
detonation in 2006.
Russia's defence ministry said an atomic explosion had
taken place in northeastern North Korea at 9:54am
(00:54GMT) and estimated the blast's yield to be up to
20 kilotonnes, about the same as the US bombs used
against the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima
at the end of the second world war.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said it had detected a
magnitude 4.7 tremor near the town of Kilchu about
375km northeast of Pyongyang, the capital, and close
to where North Korea conducted its first nuclear test
in October 2006, which was estimated to be about one
kilotonne.
EsinIslam.Com
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