U.S. not able to confirm N. Korea's claim on nuke test: State Dept.

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, May 25 (Yonhap) -- The United States said Monday that it was trying
to determine the authenticity of North Korea's claim that it conducted a second
nuclear test just hours earlier.

"We are aware of the reports of a nuclear test by North Korea," a State
Department official said, requesting anonymity. "We are consulting with our
allies. Once we have established the facts, we will have more to say. At this
point, I do not have a timeline as to when there will be more to say."
North Korea said it conducted a underground nuclear test Monday morning (Seoul
time) to "bolster up its nuclear deterrent for self-defence."
South Korean officials said that they detected seismic tremors in the
northeastern city of Poongkye-ri, North Hamgyong Province, near the site where
the North detonated its first nuclear device in 2006.
The announcement on the North's nuclear test came as Japanese vessels had stayed
away from waters off North Korea's northeastern coast following the North's
warning of possible missile launches.
North Korea has threatened to conduct further nuclear and long-range missile
tests, withdraw from multilateral nuclear talks and restart its disabled nuclear
facilities unless the U.N. Security Council apologizes for sanctions on three
North Korean firms for the North's April 5 rocket launch.
Pyongyang insists the launch was to orbit a satellite, while the U.S. and its
allies see it as a cover for a ballistic missile test.
The North's recent provocations are seen by many as its traditional brinkmanship
to get more concessions in bilateral talks with the U.S., which were suspended in
2001 by the hardline Bush administration.
Under the Bill Clinton administration, high-level exchanges took place between
North Korea and the U.S. to address U.S. concerns over the North's nuclear and
ballistic missile capabilities, with then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
and North Korea's Marshal Jo Myong-rok visiting each other's capitals.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other U.S. officials have said they are
ready to engage the North bilaterally as well as through the six-party talks.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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