BEIJING — North Korea today announced it had carried out a successful underground nuclear test, following through on a threat issued last week and defying repeated calls from around the world to stand down.
In an announcement on the official Korean Central News Agency monitored in Seoul, the North Korean government in Pyongyang said the test was carried out without radioactive leakage.
If confirmed, the test would make North Korea the eighth declared nuclear power, joining the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, India and Pakistan. Israel also is believed to possess nuclear weapons, although it has not officially declared so.
It is unclear whether North Korea has the technical capabilities to mount a nuclear device atop a missile for delivery. Pyongyang has previously tested long-range missiles, including one that flew over Japan in 1998.
"The nuclear test is a historic event that brought happiness to our military and people," the agency said. "The nuclear test will contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and surrounding region."
The South Korean news agency Yonhap, citing defense officials, said the test occurred at 10:36 a.m. in Hwaderi, near the northeastern city of Kilju.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported on its website that it had detected a magnitude 4.2 seismic event on the peninsula at 10:37.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said today that the test "would constitute a provocative act, in defiance of the will of the international community and of our call to refrain from actions that would aggravate tensions in northeast Asia.
"We expect the [United Nations] Security Council to take immediate action to respond to this unprovoked act," Snow added. "The United States is closely monitoring the situation and reaffirms its commitment to protect and defend our allies in the region."
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun convened a meeting of officials today to discuss Seoul's response to the test. Roh was scheduled to meet visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in what had been planned as a fence-mending summit between the two nations. South Korean presidential spokesman Yoon Tae-young said that Roh called on North Korea to scrap its nuclear weapons program. "North Korea should assume all responsibilities" for any radioactive fallout from a test, Yoon said, according to the Associated Press.
