N. Korea conducts second nuclear test, draws condemnation

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea carried out its second atomic test on
Monday, declaring a "success" for the expansion of its nuclear weapons program
and sparking condemnation from around the world.

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006. On April 5 this
year, it launched a long-range rocket that neighbors say was a provocative test
of its ballistic missile technology.
"The latest nuclear test could have resulted in a force of up to 20 kilotons,"
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said in a parliamentary hearing.
The 2006 blast generated a yield of less than one kiloton, according to South
Korean officials. A nuclear test is considered successful if it produces a force
of five to 15 kilotons.
North Korea announced through its official media that Monday's test helped
resolve technical problems that had prevented the country from improving its
nuclear arsenal in the past.
"The test helped satisfactorily settle the scientific and technological problems
arising in further increasing the power of nuclear weapons," the North's Korean
Central News Agency said.
North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium to create about six atomic
bombs, even though the U.S. and its allies refuse to classify it as a nuclear
state.
South Korea said the latest test appears to have taken place in Poongkye-ri,
North Hamgyong Province -- the site of the 2006 blast. North Korea also fired
three short-range missiles in an apparent move to threaten U.S. planes spying in
the region.
"The nuclear test is a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean
Peninsula," South Korean presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said, calling it
"intolerable" and "a serious challenge to the international regime on nuclear
non-proliferation.
South and North Korea remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War
ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
The statement was followed by a ban on travel to North Korea by South Korean
nationals, with the exception of those visiting the joint industrial complex in
the border city of Kaesong.
U.S. President Barack Obama said North Korea's action poses "a threat to
international peace."
"North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community,"
he said in a release. "The danger posed by North Korea's threatening activities
warrants action by the international community."
His government refrained from jumping to the conclusion that the explosion
resulted from a nuclear test.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, visiting Copenhagen, told media there that he
was "deeply disturbed," while the Chinese government said it was "resolutely
opposed" to the test.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso called it "unacceptable," while Russia said
North Korea provoked "an escalation of tensions" and breached U.N. Security
Council Resolution 1718, which imposed trade and arms sanctions on North Korea
after its 2006 test.
Despite the condemnation, a North Korean diplomat in Moscow warned his country
could conduct more nuclear tests "if the U.S. and its allies continue their
policy of intimidation," Itar-Tass reported.
Since the U.N. Security Council condemnation of its April 5 rocket launch, North
Korea has threatened additional nuclear and missile testing, vowing to toughen
its "nuclear deterrent."
Pyongyang claims it put a satellite into orbit with the launch, while Seoul and
Washington say nothing entered space and argue the rocket could be turned into a
ballistic missile capable of hitting the U.S.
South Korean and U.S. experts downplayed the likeliness that the communist regime
has developed the technology to tip intercontinental ballistic missiles with
nuclear bombs.
Protesting the international objection to its rocket launch, North Korea has
vowed to jettison the six-nation denuclearization-for-aid talks and expelled
outside monitors from its nuclear facilities.
It has also recently vowed to restore its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, which had
been undergoing disablement under a pact signed by the two Koreas, the U.S.,
Japan, Russia and China.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul,
said North Korea is stepping up its pressure on Washington to squeeze it for
"maximum" concessions.
Its leader, Kim Jong-il, also knows further U.N. sanctions would have little
economic impact on his already isolated country, Yang said.
"Kim 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."
The latest test came hours after Kim Jong-il offered condolences over the death
of former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, who jumped from a cliff on
Saturday amid pressure from a corruption scandal involving his confidants and
family.
Roh and Kim met in Pyongyang in 2007 for the second-ever summit between the two
countries. The first was held in 2000, leading to a series of reconciliatory
projects, including the Kaesong complex.
The inter-Korean ties deteriorated to their worst level in a decade after
President Lee Myung-bak took office in Seoul early last year with a pledge to tie
reconciliation to North Korean disarmament.
South Korea's stock and currency markets briefly tumbled after the North Korean
announcement of a nuclear test, but recovered most of their earlier losses.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.85 points, or 0.2
percent to 1,400.90. The local currency closed at 1,249 won to the U.S. dollar,
down 1.6 won from Friday's close.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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