S. Korea moves to confirm N. Korean nuclear test with air samples

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is checking air samples for radioactive
material at a military facility north of its capital following North Korea's
second nuclear test, a defense source said Tuesday.

The facility in Dongducheon, 40 km north of Seoul, will operate jointly with
other centers across South Korea to confirm the North Korean announcement of a
nuclear test, the source said.
Dongducheon, a mid-size city where the U.S. Forces Korea has a large portion of
its troops stationed, is only 15 km from the border between South and North
Korea.
"We may also lift airplanes to detect radioactivity in the airspace near the
border," the South Korean source said, declining to be identified because the
information is classified.
North Korea said Monday it detonated an atomic device in an underground bunker,
claiming a "success" for the enhancement of its nuclear weapons. The country
performed its first test in 2006.
The latest test has drawn condemnation from across the world, while the U.S. and
its allies have reportedly begun trying to confirm it by capturing air samples
that may be contaminated.
The Japanese Defense Ministry said it dispatched aircraft to take air samples
from the sky over Japan, while the U.S. has refrained from jumping to the
conclusion that a nuclear test was attempted.
"We expect it will be at least a few days before we can confirm that North Korea
indeed detonated a nuclear device," a South Korean defense ministry official
said, declining to be named.
After the 2006 nuclear test, it took a U.S. airplane less than a week to detect
radioactive material in air over the East Sea.
North Korea is believed to have conducted its second test in its northeastern
region.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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