China notified of N. Korea's nuke test in advance: source

BEIJING, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea gave advance notice to China that it was preparing to conduct a second nuclear test, a diplomatic source here said Monday.

The source did not provide details, such as the exact timing of the notification
or through what channel.
Whether Pyongyang informed its closest ally of the test plan appears to be
significant, as Chinese officials were reportedly upset over the North's short
notice before its first atomic weapons test in 2006. Many watchers have
questioned China's influence over North Korea. China, a veto-wielding member of
the U.N. Security Council, accepted a proposal by the U.S. and Japan to adopt a
binding resolution to sanction the North's first nuclear test.
"North Korea appears to have informed China of its second nuclear test," the
source said. "But there is no information on the timing and other details."
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, in a meeting with his South Korean
counterpart Yu Myung-hwan in Hanoi, called for the international community to
cope with the latest development in a calm and cool-headed manner, according to
Yu's aides.