Signs of second nuke test seen
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, October 17, 2006
SEOUL, South Korea – Satellite images indicate North Korea appears to be getting ready for a second nuclear test, officials said Tuesday, as the defiant communist regime held huge rallies and proclaimed that U.N. sanctions amount to a declaration of war.
China, the North’s longtime ally and biggest trading partner, warned Pyongyang not to aggravate tensions. The U.N. has condemned the Oct. 9 atomic blast, and U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill told reporters in Seoul on Tuesday that another nuclear explosion would be “a very belligerent answer” to the world.
As the White House acknowledged that the isolated nation might try a second test, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launched a diplomatic drive to persuade Asian allies and Russia to intensify North Korea’s isolation by enforcing sanctions that the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved on Saturday.
Concern over a second test stems partly from new satellite imagery showing increased activity around at least two other North Korean sites, a senior U.S. defense official said.
The activity, started a number of days ago, included ground preparation at one site and construction of some buildings and other structures, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it involved intelligence gathering.
A senior South Korean official told foreign journalists that despite signs of a possible second test, it was unlikely to happen immediately.
“We have yet to confirm any imminent signs of a second nuclear test,” the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
In North Korea, the nation marked the 80th anniversary of the “Down-with-Imperialism Union” – a political platform on which the ruling party was built. North Koreans held parades across the country along with an enormous gathering at a central square in Pyongyang.
The regime slammed the U.N. measures with a stream of bellicosity in a Foreign Ministry statement released on the official Korean Central News Agency.
“The resolution cannot be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war” against the North, the statement said.
South Korean nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo said the North’s reaction wasn’t surprising, and was full of “the usual rhetoric.”
