Seoul, US to push resolutions over Pyongyang’s nuclear test

Ban Ki-moon makes comments to the media on the situation in North Korea Jan. 6.

The security council convened an emergency closed-door meeting on the issue, reports Xinhua news agency.

The UN Security Council agreed Wednesday to roll out new measures to punish the North and vowed to begin work on a new UN draft resolution that would contain “further significant measures”.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2005 and carried out several nuclear weapon tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

As news of the test was announced nuclear scientists and the United States doubted the veracity of the claims.

He also called on Pyongyang to halt its nuclear programmes.

The country added that it would continue to strengthen its nuclear programme in order to protect itself against the hostile policies of the United States.

One senior Western diplomat said possible additions to the United Nations sanctions list could be foreign representatives of the North Korean organization that administers its nuclear developments and people linked to one of its key procurement companies.

If the claims are confirmed, it would mark a major upgrade in North Korea’s nuclear capability.

While a fourth nuclear test had been long expected, the claim that it was a hydrogen device, much more powerful than an atomic bomb, came as a surprise, as did the timing. “Proving that the blast was a hydrogen bomb would depend on the presence of the hydrogen isotope tritium, which would set it apart from a fission atomic bomb and which in turn would require the presence of lithium”.

Along with “strongly condemning” the test, members of the council determined to create a resolution that acts on previous promises to further curb the reclusive state’s ability to further its nuclear weapons program.

‘The initial analysis is not consistent with the claim the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test, ‘ White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a briefing on Wednesday (US time).

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop overnight spoke with her South Korean counterpart, who is deeply concerned about what the test means for stability in the Korean peninsula.

China is a key diplomatic protector of Pyongyang, though relations have been strained in recent years, partly due to North Korea’s continuance of its nuclear programme despite worldwide opposition.