Posted: 09.10.06 13:33. Post subject: North Korea detonates first nuclear weapons test

* 08:07 09 October 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* Damian Carrington


North Korea has carried out its first nuclear weapons test, prompting condemnation from around the world.

The communist state had signalled the underground test was to take place. It carried out its threat on Monday, despite warnings from the international community. A statement by the nation’s official news agency said: “It has been confirmed that there was no danger such as radioactive emission in the course of the nuclear test.”

North Korea says it performed the test to deter a military attack from the US. “It marks a historic event as it greatly pleased the Korean People's Army and people that wished to have a powerful self-reliant defence capability.”

Officials in South Korea said an explosion had been detected in the north of its neighbour’s territory, which measured 3.5 on the Richter scale. The US Geological Survey also detected the explosion, giving its magnitude as 4.2, equivalent to a “light” earthquake.

The USGS pinpointed the location as 41.311°N, 129.114°E - 385 km (240 miles) north-east of Pyongyang. The time of the explosion is given as 1035 local time (0135 GMT).
Unwieldy device

However, the bomb detonated by North Korea is not “weapons deliverable”, according to Joseph Cirincione at the Centre for American Progress, a Washington DC-based think tank. “It can’t be put on a missile and is probably too big for a plane,” Cirincione told the BBC.

The international reaction to the test has been both swift and highly critical. The US called it a “provocative act” that would aggravate tensions in northeast Asia and called for the UN Security Council to take immediate action.

China called the test brazen, while Japan labelled it unpardonable. South Korea stated that its neighbour’s behaviour was a “grave threat to peace and stability”.

North Korea resumed missile testing in July 2006, after eight launch-free years. The country test-fired seven missiles over the Sea of Japan ([url=http://www.newscientisttech.com/channel/tech/dn9489)]see North Korea resumes missile testing[/url].