N. Korea confirms second nuclear test

(ATTN: ADDS test location, background on N.K.'s earlier naval warning, condolences
to ex-president, expert's view, MODIFIES lead)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said it has "successfully" conducted its
second nuclear test on Monday, following a warning it issued last month after the
U.N.'s rebuke of its rocket launch and amid a diplomatic deadlock with
Washington.

South Korea and Japan swiftly agreed to take the test to the U.N. Security
Council. Washington could not immediately confirm the North's claimed test.
"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) successfully conducted
one more underground nuclear test on May 25," the official Korean Central News
Agency said.
North Korea warned of the second nuclear test -- following the first in October
in 2006 -- last month after the U.N. Security Council condemned its April 5
rocket launch.
Monday's report did not say when and where the test was conducted. According to
the Seoul-based Korea Meteorological Administration, artificial seismic waves
were detected at 9:54 a.m. and their origin was 10-15 km away from the previous
test site near the town of Kilju, in the country's northeast province of North
Hamgyong.
The waves had a magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter Scale, compared to the previous
3.6, the agency said. The North said the second test was "higher" in terms of its
explosive power and technology.
Analysts have said the previous test was a relatively small one with an explosive
force of less than one kiloton.
The test results "helped satisfactorily settle the scientific and technological
problems ... further increasing the power of nuclear weapons and steadily
developing nuclear technology," the report said.
Washington was consulting with allies but could not yet confirm the report, said
a U.S. State Department official on condition of anonymity. "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," the official said.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency meeting of security
ministers earlier in the morning to discuss countermeasures. The timing of the
test was particularly embarrassing for South Korea, where the whole nation was
mourning the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun who leaped to his death on
Saturday amid a bribery probe. North Korea's Kim had sent a message of "profound
condolences" to Roh's family just hours before the nuclear test.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and his Japanese counterpart Hirofumi
Nakasone agreed to bring the issue to the U.N. Security Council on the sidelines
of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Hanoi.
The Security Council bans North Korea's nuclear activity under its 1718
resolution adopted immediately after the country's previous test.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul,
said North Korea intended to bear international condemnation in order to pressure
Washington into opening direct talks with his country. The North also knows that
the U.N. sanctions would have little impact on its already isolated economy, Yang
said.
"Chairman Kim Jong-il is following his roadmap under meticulous calculations," he
said. "After the sanctions and temporary condemnations, he is looking at
maximizing profits North Korea may get by holding nuclear disarmament talks with
the U.S."
Yang also said North Korea appears to be expecting increased internal military
unity as a result of the nuclear test.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)