NKorea confirms nuke test, Seoul says biggest ever

SEOUL

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.

Within hours, countries worldwide -- including the U.S., Japan, Britain, and France -- had joined the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in condemning the test, almost double what Pyongyang claimed was a hydrogen bomb earlier this year.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert called the incident the latest of several similar provocations by the North this year.

“North Korea’s government is blatantly and irresponsibly seeking to provoke further destabilization in Northeast Asia,” he said.

Seibert underlined that Germany and its EU partners would continue to adopt a united and decisive position against such provocations, and called on Pyongyang to comply with the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. ​

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 UNSC 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.

On Friday, the North's neighbor Japan was reported as saying that the test, combined with advances made by Pyongyang in mobile ballistic missile technology, posed a grave threat to Japan's borders.

"We can't deny the possibility that North Korea is miniaturizing a device to build a warhead," Defense Minister Tomomi Inada told a press briefing.

The IAEA condemned the blast, describing it as deeply troubling and regrettable.

"Today's nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), if confirmed, is its second this year and the fifth since 2006," Amano said.

"This is in clear violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions and in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the international community. It is a deeply troubling and regrettable act," he added.

"I strongly urge the DPRK to fully implement all relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the IAEA."

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.

* Anadolu Agency correspondents Huseyin Erdogan, Ayhan Simsek, Hajer M'tiri and Diyar Guldogan contributed to this story