North Korea Claims First Nuclear Test
North Korea said today it had performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test, a move that prompted swift international condemnation, with the prime minister, Tony Blair, describing it as a "completely irresponsible act".
The underground explosion at 2.36am BST, which followed a warning by Pyongyang last week that it was planning such a test, was a complete success and marked a "great leap forward" for the reclusive communist state, its official KCNA news agency said.
"It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the (North Korean army) and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defence capability," KCNA said.
There was no independent verification of the test, but South Korea's seismic monitoring centre recorded a tremor registering 3.6 on the Richter scale, saying this was not a natural occurrence.
A South Korean geological institute calculated that the tremor amounted to an explosion equivalent to 550 tonnes of TNT, making the test device much smaller than the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan in the second world war.
North Korea has refused for a year to attend international talks aimed at persuading it to abandon its nuclear ambitions, amid increasing pressure from the United States and others nations. It has also defied strong international criticism by continuing to test missiles.
The White House said today that an explosion would "constitute a provocative act in defiance of the will of the international community".
Mr Blair said North Korea had been urged repeatedly to refrain from both missile and nuclear testing.
"This further act of defiance shows North Korea's disregard for the concerns of its neighbours and the wider international community," he said in a brief statement.
South Korea, which maintains a heavily fortified border with its neighbour, said it had detected no signs of heightened military activity in the northern country.
The stock market in Seoul plunged today following news of the test, with many other Asian markets following.
The underground explosion at 2.36am BST, which followed a warning by Pyongyang last week that it was planning such a test, was a complete success and marked a "great leap forward" for the reclusive communist state, its official KCNA news agency said.
"It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the (North Korean army) and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defence capability," KCNA said.
There was no independent verification of the test, but South Korea's seismic monitoring centre recorded a tremor registering 3.6 on the Richter scale, saying this was not a natural occurrence.
A South Korean geological institute calculated that the tremor amounted to an explosion equivalent to 550 tonnes of TNT, making the test device much smaller than the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan in the second world war.
North Korea has refused for a year to attend international talks aimed at persuading it to abandon its nuclear ambitions, amid increasing pressure from the United States and others nations. It has also defied strong international criticism by continuing to test missiles.
The White House said today that an explosion would "constitute a provocative act in defiance of the will of the international community".
Mr Blair said North Korea had been urged repeatedly to refrain from both missile and nuclear testing.
"This further act of defiance shows North Korea's disregard for the concerns of its neighbours and the wider international community," he said in a brief statement.
South Korea, which maintains a heavily fortified border with its neighbour, said it had detected no signs of heightened military activity in the northern country.
The stock market in Seoul plunged today following news of the test, with many other Asian markets following.
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