N. Korea confirms 2nd nuclear test

(ATTN: UPDATES with N.K. English statement, details)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea confirmed that it has "successfully"
conducted its second nuclear test on Monday, following a warning of retaliation
it issued last month after the U.N.'s condemnation of its rocket launch.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) successfully conducted
one more underground nuclear test on May 25 as part of measures to bolster its
nuclear deterrent for self-defence," the official Korean Central News Agency
said.
North Korea warned on April 29 that it would conduct the second test, following
its first in October 2006, in protest at the U.N. Security Council's rebuke for
its April 5 rocket launch.
Monday's report did not say where the test was conducted. The previous test
occurred in Kilju, the country's northeast in North Hamgyong Province.
The North said the second test was conducted "on a new higher level in terms of
its explosive power and technology of its control."
The results of the test "helped satisfactorily settle the scientific and
technological problems," it said, "further increasing the power of nuclear
weapons and steadily developing nuclear technology."
Seoul's Korea Meteorological Administration said it has detected an artificial
earthquake at 9:54 a.m. with a 4.5 magnitude. In the previous test, the detected
magnitude was 3.6, according to Yoo Yong-gu, an earthquaker detector at the
agency.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency meeting of security
ministers earlier in the morning to study the test and discuss countermeasures.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)