(RFE/RL)
October 16, 2006 -- The top U.S. intelligence agency says tests of air samples have confirmed that North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test on October 9.
In a statement, the office of the Director of National Intelligence said the explosion yield was less than a kiloton.
It's the first official confirmation from the United States that a nuclear detonation took place.
However, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency says it still doesn't know whether the test was nuclear.
Earlier, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, urged China to fully implement UN sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to its declared nuclear test.
And in Tokyo, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Thomas Scheffer, said a return by North Korea to stalled six-party talks would not be sufficient to end UN sanctions.
(AFP, AP)
It's the first official confirmation from the United States that a nuclear detonation took place.
However, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency says it still doesn't know whether the test was nuclear.
Earlier, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, urged China to fully implement UN sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to its declared nuclear test.
And in Tokyo, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Thomas Scheffer, said a return by North Korea to stalled six-party talks would not be sufficient to end UN sanctions.
(AFP, AP)