South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye strongly condemned North Korea's nuclear test Tuesday, saying the incoming government will not tolerate a nuclear-armed North, her spokeswoman said."I strongly condemn North Korea's third nuclear test that was carried out in spite of strong warnings from us and the international community," Park said in a statement read by her spokeswoman Cho Yoon-sun. "North Korea's nuclear test is a grave threat to the Korean Peninsula and international peace, hampers

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

North Korea carried out an apparent nuclear test Tuesday, its third, despite numerous appeals and warnings to desist.Here are some questions and answers about the country's nuclear weapons program, which has grown over the decades despite ever-tighter UN sanctions:Q. Is North Korea a nuclear weapons state?A. No, or at least not yet. It conducted confirmed nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. Both were believed to be fairly crude plutonium devices with relatively low yields, and the 2006 test was wide

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

South Korean civic groups and citizens expressed grave concern over the nuclear test by North Korea on Tuesday, urging the Seoul government to deal more sternly with the communist neighbor."North Korea should be held responsible for bringing about extreme tension in Northeast Asia," Kim Sam-soo, an official at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, said.Kim also stressed that the incoming Seoul government should continuously urge Pyongyang to abide by all U.N. Security Council resolutions

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday that North Korea's "provocative" nuclear test did not make it more secure and called for "swift" and "credible" international action in response.Obama also vowed in a written statement that Washington would remain vigilant in the face of the underground detonation by the Stalinist state and steadfast in its defense commitments to its allies in Asia."These provocations do not make North Korea more secure," Obama said."Far from achieving its stated goal of

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

Calls are growing for South Korea to map out a more effective, stronger deterrence strategy against North Korea after it carried out a third nuclear test on Tuesday in defiance of international warnings.Military strategists argue Seoul should devise a fresh military approach to fend off the threat such as developing its nuclear deterrence capability and strategic, asymmetrical weapons systems including special operations forces and stealth combat aircraft.But others say Seoul should maintain its

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

South Korea condemned North Korea's third nuclear test as a violation of U.N. resolutions, an "unacceptable threat" to peace and stability in the region and a "head-on challenge" to the international community.The government also warned that Pyongyang will be seriously held accountable for its defiance in an official statement issued after President Lee Myung-bak held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council. Lee was also to meet with President-elect Park Geun-hye to discuss the sec

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

North Korea's third nuclear test looks likely to set back any new diplomatic drive from the United States, which had seen glimmers of hope with the new cast of leaders in the region.The renewed crisis comes just as all three key regional players -- China, Japan and South Korea -- go through transitions to leaders who in varying ways have hinted they are seeking new ways to handle the regional pariah.U.S. President Barack Obama has made engagement a key priority in his foreign policy, but had lar

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

South Koreans who reside in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea were confirmed to be safe amid growing tension in the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test Tuesday. “No unusual situation has been found in the district yet after the North’s nuclear test,“ an official from the Ministry of Unification said. Currently, 163 South Koreans are said to be staying in the Gaeseong industrial area as many of the residing workers came back home to spend the Lunar New Year holiday with their fa

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan telephoned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday and they agreed to take "swift and unified" action at the U.N. Security Council over North Korea's third nuclear test, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. North Korea's state media confirmed that it has successfully carried out a third nuclear test, using a miniaturized device that yielded a greater explosive force than previous tests. South Korea condemned the test as a violation of U.N. Secu

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

North Korea ignored a "strong warning" from China against staging its suspected nuclear weapon test, a UN diplomat said, as the Security Council planned emergency crisis talks for Tuesday.The 15-nation council warned the North in a resolution passed last month that it would take "significant" action in the event of a new test or missile launch, and the body has called an emergency session for 9:00 am (1400 GMT).The United States and South Korea, the council president for February, had both calle

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

South Korea's economic policymakers beefed up their market monitoring and held emergency meetings on Tuesday to gauge the impact of a suspected nuclear test by North Korea.Authorities detected an unusually powerful seismic tremor near the North's nuclear site in its northeast shortly before noon Tuesday. Experts believe that it could be a sign that the North has conducted its third nuclear test in defiance of repeated international warnings.The news sent economic policymakers rushing to convene

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

North Korea's blast was similar to previous nuclear tests, the Vienna-based monitoring agency CTBTO said early Tuesday, slamming it as a potential threat to international security."The event shows explosion-like characteristics and its location is roughly congruent with the 2006 and 2009 DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) nuclear tests," agency chief Tibor Toth said in a statement. "For now, further data and analysis are necessary to establish what kind of event this is," he added."If

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013