World Powers Condemn NKorea's Nuclear Test, Switzerland Ready to Help in Diplomatic Efforts
U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon condemned Tuesday North Korea's nuclear test as "deeply destabilizing" and U.S. President Barack Obama called for swift and credible international action.
Ban condemned the nuclear weapons test as a "deeply destabilizing" provocation, his spokesman said Tuesday.
"It is a clear and grave violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions," Ban said of the underground blast, in comments given through his spokesman Martin Nesirky.
North Korea said it staged a successful test of a "miniaturized" bomb in a declaration that brought immediate global protests.
On the other hand U.S. President Barack Obama said 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.
Russia condemned the new nuclear test, saying Moscow considered it a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the Interfax news agency reported.
"We condemn these actions by North Korea and see them, along with the recent ballistic rocket satellite launch, as a violation of corresponding U.N. Security Council resolutions," a foreign ministry source told the agency.
Russia had in December expressed "deep regret" over a long-range rocket launch by North Korea which Pyongyang said was a purely scientific mission aimed at putting a satellite into space.
The European Union condemned the test "in the strongest possible terms", saying it was "a further blatant challenge" to the world's non-proliferation regime.
A statement from EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton warned that the EU "remains seized of the matter" and would work with its partners to show "the DPRK (North Korea) that there are consequences".
French President Francois Hollande strongly condemned NKorea's test and said Paris would back firm action by the U.N. Security Council.
"I condemn in the strongest terms the latest nuclear test by North Korea," he said in a statement, adding that France "will back strong action by the U.N. Security Council and will work to this end with its partners".
He urged North Korea to abide by "its international obligations and proceed to completely and irreversibly dismantle its nuclear and ballistic program in a manner which is verifiable".
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also condemned the test, saying it contravened international declarations.
"(The test) violates a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions," Abe told parliament. "It was extremely regrettable. We will strongly protest."
Japan plans to dispatch military aircraft to take samples of air to detect radiation in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test, officials and news reports said.
Britain called for a "robust response" from the U.N. Security Council after North Korea announced that it had staged its most powerful nuclear test yet.
"The UK will begin urgent consultations with Security Council partners calling for a robust response to this latest development," the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The United Nations should consider more sanctions against North Korea as a response to Pyongyang's third nuclear test, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.
Condemning the test "in the strongest possible terms", Westerwelle said in a statement: "Further sanctions against the regime in Pyongyang should now be considered."
China expressed "firm opposition" saying it had gone ahead with the blast "despite widespread opposition from the international community".
Switzerland said it was ready to assist diplomatic efforts to end North Korea's nuclear program after condemning the isolated nation's latest nuclear test.
"This test violates U.N. Security Council resolutions. But Switzerland is convinced that a way out of the Korean peninsula’s nuclear and security problem can only be found within the framework of a process of diplomatic negotiation," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Source: Agence France Presse
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