Nuclear Test

North Korea defies UN in testing bomb

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Shoppers in Tokyo, Japan, read newspapers reporting that North Korea conducted a nuclear test on October 9, 2006. (Photo: Katsumi Kasahara/AP Photos)

October 9, 2006

North Korea may have tested a nuclear weapon over the weekend. On Monday, President George W. Bush condemned the test, saying it was a threat to world peace. He also called the test a “grave threat” to the United States.

The United Nations Security Council met Monday morning to discuss possible action against North Korea. Even China said it would respond “sternly” to North Korea. China is a close ally of North Korea.

The nuclear test would be the first of its kind since 1998. In May of that year, Pakistan detonated a number of underground nuclear weapons. India had conducted three nuclear underground tests that same month. North Korea would be the eighth country to conduct such a test.

North Korea’s UN Ambassador Pak Kil-yon called the test “very, very successful.” He claimed the test would contribute to world peace, and said his country’s scientists and researchers should be congratulated.

The U.S. and other members of the UN Security Council are concerned because North Korea has sold weapons and technology to Iran and Syria. These two Middle East countries are home to terrorist groups that have attacked the U.S. and Israel.

The Security Council also fears that Iran will speed up its own development of nuclear weapons.

"If North Korea gets away with this, Iran will be encouraged to go forward," said international security analyst Joseph Cirincione of the Center for American Progress.

Along with China, South Korea has voiced its concerns. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said the test threatens the stability of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

The UN Security Council had warned North Korea two days before the test not to go through it. If experts confirm that a nuclear bomb was tested, the UN will likely strengthen economic sanctions against North Korea, which is already a poor and isolated country.

New UN Leader

The next Secretary General of the United Nations may be from South Korea. Ban Ki-moon was nominated for the top post at the UN only hours after North Korea claimed to have detonated a nuclear bomb.

The current Secretary General, Kofi Annan, will step down this year after 10 years as head of the world body. His term expires on December 31.

Six other candidates for the job declined to be considered, leaving only Ban. The UN Security Council approved Ban on Monday. The 192-member General Assembly will vote on the nomination within two to three weeks.

Ban is 62 years old. He will be the eighth secretary general in the UN’s 60-year history. He is known as a mediator and a diplomat.

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Nuclear Test Why is it a threat to world peace for North Korea to have nuclear weapons?

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