Japan Protests H-Bomb Test Announced by N. Korea

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government lodged a protest on Wednesday against a hydrogen bomb test announced by North Korea the same day, using diplomatic channels in Beijing. "The North Korean move is a grave threat to the safety of Japan," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a statement. The Japanese government asked the U.N. Security Council to discuss the North Korean issue promptly. In the statement, Abe said Japan believes that North Korea has carried out a nuclear test. Japan strongly urges North Korea to take concrete steps for comprehensive resolutions of its abduction, nuclear and missile issues, the statement stressed. With the United States, Japan has asked the president of the U.N. Security Council to call an emergency meeting to discuss the bomb test claimed by North Korea, Abe told a meeting of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan7s parliament. After an artificial earthquake was detected, the Japanese government held two meetings of the National Security Council at the prime minister's office. At a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that Japan will consider resolute actions aimed at strengthening its sanctions against North Korea, after assessing moves by Pyongyang and the international community. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida held a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy at his ministry in Tokyo. Japan intends to work closely with relevant countries, including the United States and South Korea, Kishida told Kennedy. She said that the United States is joining forces with Japan and other partners. END