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Spies beef up surveillance of 11 sites for nuke test June 15, 2009 South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials have ratcheted up their monitoring of 11 underground facilities in North Korea after reports of a third possible North Korean nuclear test, sources told the JoongAng Ilbo. An intelligence source said the test would be in response to the recent United Nations Security Council’s resolution that condemns the North’s second nuclear test on May 25 and imposes tough sanctions on Pyongyang. According to the source, South Korea and the United States are using KH-12 spy satellites to monitor vehicle movements. They’re...

SKorea braces for 3rd nuclear test by North Korea By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 12, 3:52 am ET SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea was bracing for a possible third nuclear test by the North, which a U.S. official said was likely despite looming U.N. sanctions on the communist state for its previous test in May. Given the North's track record of provocative behavior and defiance of the United Nations, "common sense" would dictate that it is preparing for another nuclear test, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told reporters Friday. He said the test was...

Was N. Korea`s 2nd Nuke Test Faked? JUNE 04, 2009 08:20 Suspicion is rising over whether North Korea really conducted a nuclear test last week since no krypton-85, a radioactive material produced after an atomic detonation, has been detected. Radioactive materials not found in nature such as krypton-85 and xenon-135 are released after a nuclear test. Krypton-85 remains in the air for several decades and thus presents clear evidence of a nuclear test. In October 2006, a U.S. WC-135 scout plane detected radioactive materials over the East Sea a couple of days after the North conducted its first nuclear test....

A Nuclear Asia From End To End Gordon G. Chang, 05.29.09, 12:01 AM ET On Tuesday, Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's most widely read newspaper, urged Seoul to build its own long-range missiles and atomic bombs. "North Korea claims its rationale for having nuclear weapons is to defend itself," the broadsheet editorialized. "South Korea too now requires a deterrent." To build that deterrent, the South will first have to abrogate two global agreements, the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. For years, these pacts, which prevented the dissemination of dangerous technologies, looked solid. Now,...

(LEAD) (Yonhap Interview) N. Korean nuclear test to trigger unprecedented response: Cohen By Sam Kim SINGAPORE, May 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korea made a "big miscalculation" by going ahead with its second nuclear test and should expect an unprecedented response from the international community, a former U.S. defense minister said Friday. North Korea set off an underground nuclear explosion in its northeastern region on Monday despite a slew of international warnings

China's Anger at North Korea Test Signals Shift By JAY SOLOMON in Washington and IAN JOHNSON and GORDON FAIRCLOUGH in Beijing North Korea's nuclear test this week has deeply angered China, a mood shift signaled in statements showing that influential Chinese thinkers are coming to see Kim Jong Il's regime as a liability. The change in attitude doesn't indicate China will support punishment that could threaten the stability of its neighbor. China appears ready to support modest sanctions at the United Nations Security Council, along the lines of the restrictions on North Korean companies it has supported in the past....

(LEAD) Chinese ships shunning waters near Korea amid tensions SEOUL, May 29 (Yonhap) -- Chinese fishing vessels are leaving the Yellow Sea, where tensions between the two Koreas have escalated after Pyongyang's threats of military clash, a defense source here said Friday. "Chinese fishing ships operating near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) began withdrawing yesterday," the source said, adding the military authorities are trying to find out whether North Korea asked them to do so. More than 280 Chinese vessels were fishing near the NLL for crab earlier this week but the number has dropped to about 140, according to...

US should consider military options against N Korea: Perry Thu May 28, 1:28 pm ET WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States should consider a range of coercive measures against North Korea, including possible military action, for diplomacy to have a chance of success, former US defense secretary William Perry said Thursday. Perry emphasized that he was not recommending military action against North Korea now but said the United States should at least consider escalating to military action if other lesser coercive measures prove ineffective. "We could have stopped this last nuclear test if we had chosen to do so. We...

N. Korean nuclear blast probably less powerful than hoped for: Yale scholar By Sam Kim SEOUL, May 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea apparently failed to achieve desired explosiveness in its second nuclear test, a Yale University professor says, citing seismic readings that have been generated by it. North Korea set off an underground nuclear explosion on Monday, creating a shock that registered 4.52 in magnitude on the Richter scale, according to a Vienna-based anti-nuclear weapons organization. North Korea produced a magnitude of 4.1 in its first test in October 2006, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty says. Jefferey Park, director of the...

(2nd LD) S. Korea joins PSI after N. Korea's nuke test By Lee Chi-dong SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Tuesday declared full participation in the U.S.-led campaign aimed at curbing the spread of the weapons of mass destruction and related materials, a day after North Korea conducted its second nuclear test. South Korea made the decision to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) following the North's April 5 rocket launch, but it had delayed a formal announcement in consideration of its efforts to resume dialogue with the communist neighbor. Government officials said there was no reason to...

President Barack Obama hit the golf course after marking his first Memorial Day as commander in chief. The president's motorcade took him to Fort Belvoir in Virginia. That's where he went for a game of golf more than a week ago. Obama grabbed his clubs after he participated in Memorial Day observances at Arlington National Cemetery

(News Focus) N. Korea moving fast in timetable of provocative steps By Lee Chi-dong SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's second nuclear test came as no surprise to South Korean officials on Monday, but they said the unpredictable communist nation pulled out its trump card earlier than expected. "North Korea seems to want a speedy game," a senior South Korean government official handling the nuclear issue said. "It seems to be seeking to create a condition favorable to itself as early as possible, rather than dragging its feet." The North, infuriated by the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of its...

Russia confirms North Korea's nuclear test - Summary Posted on : 2009-05-25 | Author : DPA News Category : Europe Moscow - Russia's Defence Ministry on Monday confirmed that North Korea had conducted a subterranean nuclear test. The nuclear explosion had a strength of between 10 and 20 kilotons, Defence Ministry spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky said, according to the Interfax news agency. The detonation was registered in an area some 80 kilometres north- west of the city of Kilchu. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was in Lebanon on Monday expressed concern over the developments.

N. Korea couples nuclear blast with missile launch: source By Sam Kim SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to have test-fired a short-range missile Monday on its east coast after it conducted its second nuclear test, a South Korean source said. The missile, with an estimated range of 130 kilometers, was fired from the coastal site where North Korea launched its long-range rocket on April 5, the source said. The latest launch comes as tension peaks on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea claimed it succeeded in detonating a more powerful nuclear device in its northeastern region. "The...

N. Korea's 2nd nuke test occurred few kilometers from previous test site: weather agency SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's second nuclear test on Monday appeared to have taken place 10-15 km away from the site of the first test in the country's northeast, Seoul's weather agency said. Pyongyang's state media confirmed the country has "successfully" conducted the underground nuclear test but did not say where it took place. The Seoul-based Korea Meteorological Administration said it detected seismic waves from the nuclear test 10 to 15 km away from the 2006 test site around the town of Kilju, North...

<p>This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.</p>

Second nuke test by N. Korea would lead to 'consequences': Bosworth By Lee Chi-dong SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- The senior U.S. nuclear envoy on Friday dismissed North Korea's recent claim that the Obama administration is hostile towards Pyongyang, saying Washington is continuing efforts for bilateral and multilateral dialogue with the communist nation, On a trip here highlighted by the North's renewed threats to bolster its nuclear arsenal, Stephen Bosworth made clear that if North Korea puts its threats into action, it will face "consequences." "If the North Koreans decide to carry out a second nuclear test, we will deal...

Activity at N.Korean Test Sites Intensifies North Korea has been speeding up construction of a new long-range missile test site in Tongchangri, North Pyongan Province. And vehicles and personnel are busily moving around in Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, where the North conducted an underground nuclear test in 2006, showing signs of preparations for another. "The North has recently been speeding up construction at the test site in Tongchangri by deploying more equipment and personnel," a South Korean government official said Wednesday. "We expected the North would complete construction sometime late this year, but it now seems that it could be...

SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea on Wednesday threatened to conduct a second nuclear test unless the United Nations apologises for condemning its rocket launch, sharply raising the stakes in the dispute over its weapons programmes. Unless the Security Council apologises immediately, the North vowed to take what it called additional defensive measures. "The measures will include nuclear tests and test-firings of intercontinental ballistic missiles," its foreign ministry said in a statement on official media. The announcement further raised regional tensions following the North's April 5 launch of a long-range rocket. Pyongyang said it put a peaceful satellite into orbit while...

/begin my excerpts Choson Sinbo: Hints at N. Korean Nuclear Test Points out the 2006 nuclear test was done three months after the Security Council Resolution (Seoul= Yonhap News) Kim Doo-hwan = Choson Sinbo, the newspaper for pro-North Korean group in Japan, which is an unofficial mouthpiece of N. Korea to the outside world hinted on Apr. 24 that N. Korea could carry out nuclear test in response to the (recent) Security Council Resolution condemning N. Korea's rocket launch. The paper also reminded Barak Obama administration of U.S., "If it does not want to repeat the mistake of pushing us...