Signaling that it has no intention of bowing to international demands that it cease its efforts to become a nuclear power, North Korea on Tuesday at 11: 57 a.m. local time detonated a nuclear device, a first for the regime of Mr. Kim Jong Un and the country's third experimental nuclear explosion following tests in 2006 and 2009.
The latest nuclear test will further destabilize the East Asian region and the implementation of tougher sanctions in response will only serve to deepen North Korea's isolation in the international community. It will make it much more difficult for Tokyo to seek to improve ties with Pyongyang through dialogue. The United Nations Security Council must take appropriate action, including a strong condemnation of North Korea.
The nuclear test — reportedly involving a miniaturized nuclear device — follows North Korea's successful launch of a long-range rocket on Dec. 12, which placed what the North claims to be a satellite into orbit. This sequence of events is extremely regrettable. On Jan. 22, the UNSC unanimously adopted a resolution condemning North Korea and demanding that it abandon its nuclear weapons program in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible manner." Immediately after the rocket launch, the North Korea's National Defense Commission had warned that it would carry out a third nuclear test, describing it as a "nuclear test of higher level."