Monday, October 09, 2006

North Korea conducts first atom bomb test

North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon Monday apparently in the vicinity Hwadaeri, near North Korea's northeast coast.

The move sparked concern around the world especially in South Korea and Japan. Even Pyongyang's closest ally, China, labeled the test as "brazen."

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (C) inspects the Korean People's Army unit 851 in an unidentified location in North Korea in this undated handout photo released August 30, 2006. North Korea said on October 9, 2006 it had safely and successfully carried out an underground nuclear test, flying in the face of a warning from the U.N. Security Council. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY (Korea News Service/File/Reuters)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during an army inspection in an undated handout photo released August 30, 2006. Korea News Service/File/Reuters photo via Yahoo News.

"The nuclear test was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology, 100 percent," North Korea's official KCNA news agency announced.

South Korean intelligence officials told parliament the test appeared to be conducted in a horizontal tunnel in a mountain northwest of the Musudan missile base.

The US Geological Survey said it had detected a "shallow" earthquake of a magnitude of 4.2 degrees on the Richter scale in North Korea.
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