North Korea says it has successfully conducted an underground nuclear test, defying international warnings and raising concerns over its nuclear weapons program.Pyongyang said Monday's test was more powerful than the country's first test two-and-a-half years ago.South Korea's Yonhap news agency also reports that North Korea test-fired a short-range missile just hours after the nuclear test.
U.S. President Barack Obama said early Monday that the reported tests are a "matter of grave concern" and warrant international action. He said in a statement, "By acting in blatant defiance of the United Nations Security Council, North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community."Russia's envoy to the United Nations said the U.N. Security Council will hold a special meeting Monday to discuss the issue.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the nuclear explosion had a force of up to 20 kilotons, the same size as the bomb the U.S. dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. Seismologists from around the world reported a tremor in northeast North Korea a little before 0100 UTC, near where Pyongyang conducted its first test in October, 2006. Read more.
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