North Korea has conducted its third nuclear test. It announced that it had a greater explosive power than the tests conducted in 2006 and 2009. The international community has sharply criticized this action.
U.S. President Barack Obama called this test a provocative act that threatens regional stability. The danger posed by North Korea’s activities justifies further swift and credible action by the international community. The U.S. will also continue to take necessary steps to defend itself and its allies, Obama stated.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the test is a serious threat that cannot be tolerated. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the North Korean test, asserting that it constitutes a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions, which has called an emergency meeting for today.
China, increasingly frustrated with its neighbor, has again called for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and for calming the situation. It urged Pyongyang not to escalate tensions.
South Korea reported that the strength of the seismic activity associated with the nuclear explosion was slightly greater than in the two previous North Korean tests, which involved bombs of 6 to 7 kilotons. This is considered a relatively weak nuclear explosion. In comparison, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II had a yield of 20 kilotons.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that it recorded seismic activity of magnitude 5.1. Although it has conducted three nuclear tests and tested long-range missiles, North Korea is believed to be far from developing a nuclear missile capable of hitting the U.S.
