Japan confirms North Korea carried out its fifth and largest nuclear test yet
UPDATE: Sept. 9, 2016, 2:17 p.m. SGT Updated with Japan's statement.
Japan has confirmed that North Korea carried out nuclear tests on Friday morning, which triggered 5.3 magnitude tremors at a test site in North Korea.
South Korea and international monitoring agencies reported Friday an earthquake near North Korea's northeastern nuclear test site, a strong indication that Pyongyang had detonated its fifth atomic test explosion.
SEE ALSO:360-degree video tour of North Korea gets you inside its isolated capitalJapan's top government spokesperson, Yoshihide Suga, was quoted by Reuterssaying: "Taking into consideration the irregularity of the tremors, and the information we have gathered, we have come to the conclusion that North Korea did indeed carry out a nuclear test."
He added: "This is of course something we cannot tolerate as a country, and we immediately expressed our strongest denunciation and protest through embassy channels in Beijing."
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the detonation was one of North Korea's "strongest ever", at a yield of 10 kilotons.
Earlier in the morning, European and U.S. monitoring services also detected similar seismic activity, with the U.S. Geological Survey calling it an "explosion" on its website.
Any test will lead to a strong push for new, tougher sanctions at the United Nations.
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test earlier this year, part of its push for a nuclear-armed missile that could one day reach the U.S. mainland.
A second nuclear test this year would be a defiant response to Western pressure on Pyongyang to halt its nuclear ambitions. The country has previously conducted tests every three to four years.
Any test will lead to a strong push for new, tougher sanctions at the United Nations and further worsen already abysmal relations between Pyongyang and its neighbors. North Korean nuclear tests worry outside governments because they are seen as moving North Korea's scientists and engineers that much closer to their goal of an arsenal of nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States.
Tweet may have been deleted
After several failures, North Korea has since successfully launched long-range rockets.
North Korea is thought to have a handful of rudimentary nuclear bombs and has spent decades trying to perfect a multistage, long-range missile to eventually carry smaller versions of those bombs. After several failures, it put its first satellite into space with a long-range rocket launched in December 2012, and has since launched another such successful launch.
Experts say that ballistic missiles and rockets in satellite launches share similar bodies, engines and other technology. The U.N. calls the North's long-range rocket launches banned tests of ballistic missile technology.
Some analysts say the North hasn't likely achieved the technology needed to manufacture a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the U.S. But there is a growing debate on just how far the North has advanced in its secretive nuclear and missile programs.
Additional reporting by Mashable.
(责任编辑:资讯)
- New image shows the North Star is changing. And it has spots.
- The Russian government trolled Sarah Jessica Parker and 2017 is the weirdest year of our lives
- PM Shehbaz felicitates Pakistan women football team
- Why some viruses die out in summer, but others thrive
- Supercritical geothermal power: Limitless promise or impossible dream?
- CrowdStrike outage is still causing hundreds of flight cancellations daily
- Kyrgios’s knee surgery a 'great success'
- Great, now Apple users are seeing outages
- “焚烧秸秆无疑是在烧钱”
- Military prosecutors indict intel official over leaking 'black agent' info
- 天全地税 深入开展“创新、创优、创效”合理化建议活动
- Bale to play at golf's Pebble Beach event
- 整治行动未发现非法捕捞现象
-
The Astounding World of Automata
The growing world of robots and self-driving cars can trace its roots back to early automata. The or ...[详细] -
The Russian government trolled Sarah Jessica Parker and 2017 is the weirdest year of our lives
You'd think the strangest story of the day would be two Hollywood stars-turned-politicians, fighting ...[详细] -
Telecom giants can finally stop caring about protecting your data
For a brief moment, the personal data you gave to Verizon, AT&T and Comcast was protected from t ...[详细] -
North Korea's arms exports to Russia likely to increase: analysts
This photo released Sunday by state media shows North Korean leader holding a rifle during an inspec ...[详细] -
Pakistan Cricket at crossroads after shock defeat at Pindi
KARACHI:Bangladesh cricket team's stunning ten-wicket Test victory at Rawalpindi on Sunday yet a ...[详细] -
Now you can scan to identify plants and dogs right in Snapchat
Have you ever seen a dog so adorable or a plant so lush out in the wild that you had to know what it ...[详细] -
N. Korean airliner arrives in Beijing in 1st post
North Koreans line up at a check-in counter for Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, at Beijin ...[详细] -
Telecom giants can finally stop caring about protecting your data
For a brief moment, the personal data you gave to Verizon, AT&T and Comcast was protected from t ...[详细] -
NASA rover snaps photo of its most daunting challenge yet
A car-sized NASA rover, weighing over a ton, will scale a crater wall.The space agency announced tha ...[详细] -
Moon’s assertive stance unnerves centrist politicians
The main opposition party’s front-runner Moon Jae-in is stepping up his attack against major initiat ...[详细]
- Ruling bloc divided on foreign nannies' pay
- Thanks, Trump: I guess we are cool with George W. Bush now
- Seoul pulls out stops to halt AI
- 雨城地税前三季度入库收入上亿元
- Pressure boost squeezes out more hydrogen from artificial leaves
- Benzema and Kroos fire Madrid to Bilbao win
- Everyone's favourite physicist has a far