By Alex Jensen
SEOUL (AA) – South Korea was preparing to respond Friday to what looked like a fifth ever nuclear test by North Korea on a key anniversary for the authoritarian state.
The South’s presidential office said that there would be an emergency meeting of the National Security Council after the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that “an artificial quake was detected near North Korea’s Punggye-ri at around 9.30 a.m. [0030GMT].”
The location was also used for the North’s previous four nuclear tests between 2006 and January of this year — the latest of which was hailed by Pyongyang as its first involving a hydrogen bomb.
Local news agency Yonhap cited a government source admitting that “there is a high possibility that Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test on the occasion of its 68th anniversary of the establishment of its regime.”
Earlier this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had demanded more “miraculous” nuclear achievements as he oversaw a triple ballistic missile test.
Those launches swiftly drew a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) statement of condemnation warning of “further significant measures” following on from March’s strengthened sanctions — but it is not clear what actions could be taken against the North, which is barred from developing nuclear and ballistic missile technology.
Pyongyang has repeatedly ignored warnings, including from its closest ally China — and analysts generally view Beijing’s influence as offering a degree of protection from any UNSC punishment that could cause the collapse of North Korea’s regime.
Also this week, the North’s foreign ministry repeated its claim to nuclear sovereignty and right to self-defense while again shifting the blame for regional tensions on the United States.
Another factor behind North Korea’s defiance has been its push to establish the Kim reign, as the relatively young leader came to power following the sudden death of his father in 2011.
Kim has this year cemented Pyongyang’s dual policy of pursuing economic and nuclear development — a goal seen as impossible by much of the international community.
