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Barack Obama

SEOUL/BEIJING. – North Korea conducted its fifth and biggest nuclear test yesterday and said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat that its rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain. The blast, on the 68th anniversary of North Korea’s founding, was more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, according to some estimates. It was condemned by the United States, which said it would work with partners to impose new sanctions on North Korea, and by China, Pyongyang’s main ally.

The United Nations Security Council would discuss the test and whether the 15-member body should punish the reclusive state by imposing further sanctions at a closed-door meeting on Friday requested by the United States, Japan and South Korea, diplomats said.

Under 32-year-old leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has accelerated the development of its nuclear and missile programmes, despite UN sanctions that were tightened in March and have further isolated the country.

US President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying afterward they had agreed to work with the UN Security Council and other powers to vigorously enforce existing measures against North Korea and to take “additional significant steps, including new sanctions.”

The test was a “grave threat to regional security and to international peace and stability,” Obama said in a statement, adding North Korea should face consequences for its “unlawful and dangerous actions.”

South Korea’s Park, in Laos after a summit of Asian leaders that Obama also attended, said Kim was showing “maniacal recklessness” in completely ignoring the world’s call to abandon his pursuit of nuclear weapons.

China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement yesterday expressing firm opposition to the nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

“Today the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, despite universal opposition from the international community, conducted another nuclear test, to which the Chinese government is firmly opposed,” said the statement.

“We strongly urge the DPRK side to honour the commitment to denuclearisation, abide by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and halt any moves that could aggravate the situation,” the statement said.

The statement said China’s stance has always been to achieve denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula, prevent nuclear proliferation and maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

“China will, along with the international community, keep working toward the goal of denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula and commit to settling problems through the six-party talks,” said the statement.

China will lodge representation with the DPRK over the nuclear test, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a press conference yesterday.

Twists and turns on the Korean Peninsula this year have seriously damaged peace and stability in the region and gone against the common expectation of the international community, Hua said.

The security concerns of relevant parties should be solved in accordance with their common interests, Hua said, adding that any unilateral action would be a dead end, making the situation more tense and complicated.

China strongly urged relevant parties to focus on the big picture, watch their words and actions and avoid mutual confrontation, Hua said.

China also called on relevant parties to make joint efforts to uphold peace and stability and proceed with the denuclearisation process on the peninsula, Hua said. – Reuters/Xinhua.