UPDATES WITH MORE FROM NK NEWS AGENCY
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL (AA) – North Korea conducted a fifth ever nuclear test Friday morning, described by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff as the reclusive state’s “biggest-ever” with a yield reaching 10 kilotons
The amount is almost double what Pyongyang claimed was a hydrogen bomb earlier this year.
South Korea’s military detected a magnitude 5.3 earthquake at around 9.30 a.m. (0130GMT) close to the Punggye-ri site where the North carried out its previous four tests since 2006.
January’s fourth test drew the United Nations Security Council’s strongest punitive measures to date against North Korea, which is barred from developing nuclear and ballistic missile technology.
Ignoring global warnings, North Korean state-run KCNA news agency claimed the morning’s explosion saw its capabilities move to “a higher level” that will allow the country to fire nuclear warhead-mounted missiles at will.
It has repeatedly threatened to do so in the direction of South Korea and the United States.
The UNSC is to hold an emergency session Friday evening New York time, according to a Seoul official cited by local news agency Yonhap.
Analysts generally view the influence of North Korea’s old ally China as offering a degree of protection from any punishment that could cause the collapse of Pyongyang’s leadership.
South Korea and the United States have still agreed to use “all means available” in response to the North’s fifth test, as their respective leaders Park Geun-hye and Barack Obama spoke over the phone.
Park’s office revealed that Washington reaffirmed the availability of its nuclear umbrella if needed, and the South Korean president vowed to seek “much stronger sanctions.”
But March’s bolstered UNSC punitive measures did not dissuade North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, who this week demanded more “miraculous” nuclear achievements when overseeing a triple ballistic missile test.
Pyongyang’s Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station reported Friday that the North would “continue to strengthen our capacity to bolster nuclear force” in the face of regional American aggression, with nearly 30,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea alone.
The occasion for the latest test was the 68th anniversary of the establishment of North Korea’s regime, and Pyongyang’s efforts appear to be gathering pace after Kim cemented his dual policy of pursuing economic and nuclear development.
Concerns had already been growing over the North’s developing ability to both miniaturize warheads and launch missiles from submarines.
Monday’s most recent ballistic missile launches were met with a UNSC statement of condemnation warning of “further significant measures” — echoing last month’s disapproval of a North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile test.
