The Latest on North Korea’s nuclear test and the world reaction (all times local) :
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The Latest on North Korea’s nuclear test and the world reaction (all times local) :
7 p.m.
The head of the U. N. organization looking into North Korea’s recent nuclear test says it is seeking information about a second seismic shock that followed the detonation to rule out the possibility it was a second explosion.
Lassina Zerbo of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization says experts believe the second shock was geological and was caused by the blast.
But he told reporters Monday that because it was recorded at the same location, the experts are working to have a better understanding of what caused the second shock.
The U. N. Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss responses to Sunday’s nuclear test, North Korea’s most powerful to date.
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6 p.m.
Switzerland’s president says her country could help mediate the standoff between North Korea and other countries over its nuclear and missile programs.
Doris Leuthard said Monday the small, proudly neutral Alpine country that has represented U. S. interests in places like Iran and Cuba in the past could now use « its good services as a mediator » to help address the tensions.
She said: « We are ready to also offer our role for good services as a mediator, and in the coming weeks it will all depend on how the U. S. and China can have an influence in this crisis. »
Swiss cities have hosted numerous international mediation efforts over the years, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un once studied in Switzerland.
Speaking to journalists in the Swiss capital, Bern, Leuthard said: « Perhaps these actions of North Korea are also an invitation for dialogue: We’ll see. »
She added, « it’s really time for dialogue. »
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5: 30 p.m.
A senior Russian diplomat has strongly condemned North Korea’s latest nuclear test.
The U. N. Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting, its second in less than a week, after North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date.
In unusually strong language, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday urged North Korea to « stop provocative actions that destabilize the situation. »
He said Moscow sees « a dangerous trend in how quickly North Korea is making progress » in its nuclear program.
Ryabkov insisted that Moscow still sees diplomacy as the only viable solution to the Korea crisis.
He said: « The one who is stronger and smarter should show restraint. »
Ryabkov was speaking to Russian news agencies on the sidelines of a summit of major emerging economics in China.
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5: 15 p.m.
China has warned North Korea against proceeding with its reported plans to launch another ballistic missile, saying it should not worsen tensions.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Monday that North Korea « must be very clear » that U. N. Security Council resolutions prohibit such activities.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Monday that North Korea appeared to be planning a future missile launch, possibly of an ICBM.
In Beijing, Geng said China hopes all parties, especially North Korea, « exercise restraint and refrain from further escalating tensions. »
Geng also said that China had lodged « stern representations » with the North Korean Embassy in Beijing after the North conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sunday.
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5 p.m.
South Korea says Donald Trump’s national security adviser H. R. McMaster spoke with his South Korean counterpart on Monday, a third time the two spoke since North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.
South Korea’s presidential office said Chung Eui-yong, President Moon Jae-in’s national security director, spoke with McMaster for 30 minutes on the phone on Monday morning to discuss the latest updates on the two countries’ response to the North’s test and their future response.
The U. S. confirmed its strong defense commitment on South Korea and they both agreed to closely collaborate to come up with stern punitive measure against the North’s provocation.
4: 50 p.m.
China says President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off trade with countries that deal with North Korea is unacceptable and unfair.
Trump said on Twitter on Sunday the United States is considering halting trade with « any country doing business with North Korea. » His remarks came after North Korea detonated a thermonuclear device in its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.
Geng Shuang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters at a briefing in Beijing on Monday that China regarded as « unacceptable a situation in which on the one hand we work to resolve this issue peacefully but on the other hand our own interests are subject to sanctions and jeopardized. »
Geng said: « This is neither objective nor fair. »
China is the North’s closest ally and commercial partner.
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4: 30 p.m.
South Korea says the U. S. military will soon install additional missile-defense launchers at the site in southeastern South Korea in order to counter North Korea’s provocations.
South Korea’s defense ministry says the installation of four missile launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, also known as THAAD, was a « temporary » deployment as it needed to respond to the advancement of the North’s nuclear and missile threats.
The ministry says the final deployment of the THAAD missile system will hinge on an environmental impact study. The U. S. anti-missile system has been a source of diplomatic tensions between South Korea and China, which fears its powerful radar may peer into Chinese territory. It has also faced opposition from local residents who say the previous administration made a hasty decision to install the U. S. anti-missile system without due procedures.
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4: 20 p.m.
China and other major emerging economies say they « strongly deplore » North Korea’s latest nuclear test.
The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are meeting at the BRICS summit in southeastern China. The leaders adopted a declaration Monday in which they expressed « deep concern over the ongoing tension and prolonged nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula. »
The text of the declaration, posted on India’s Ministry of External Affairs website, also said the countries emphasized the issue should be settled through peaceful means and dialogue – echoing Beijing’s long-held position.
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4: 15 p.m.
Japan’s leader says he will seek to bolster his country’s missile defense in the face of the growing North Korean threat.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that his government would push for adding equipment such as the U. S.-developed Aegis Ashore missile interceptor.
His comments to a meeting of top officials from the government and his ruling party came one day after North Korea conducted its biggest nuclear test to date.
Abe said Japan would maintain high caution for what he called « further provocations » from North Korea.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said last week in its 2018 budget proposal that it is considering the Aegis Ashore anti-missile system.
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3: 40 p.m.
Egypt has condemned North Korea’s nuclear test, warning of threats to regional security.
The Foreign Ministry expressed worries Monday that the escalating activity could unleash a nuclear arms race in the region.
The statement on Monday comes nearly 10 days after the U. S. announced it was withholding millions of dollars in aid to Egypt over human rights concerns. Observers, however, have noted that the move is also linked to Egypt’s relations with North Korea as the U. S. continues to isolate North Korea economically and politically.
In a phone call in July, President Donald Trump gave a thinly veiled warning to Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to stop its economic cooperation with Pyongyang.
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3: 30 p.m.
A publication of the ruling Communist Party has urged China to avoid imposing a full embargo on North Korea. The Global Times newspaper said in an editorial Monday that such a response would trigger war.
The paper said the nuclear test conducted Sunday was « another wrong choice that Pyongyang has made » in violation of U. N. Security Council resolutions.
It said China should avoid overly aggressive sanctions, as long as North Korea’s tests do not contaminate China’s northeastern provinces. China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection says radiation monitoring data showed no impact from the test as of early Monday.
Meanwhile, leading Chinese government-backed scholar Lu Chao says China will likely agree to slap more sanctions on its ally North Korea over its latest nuclear test. But Lu asserted that dialogue remained necessary.
« The U. S should take specific and sincere actions toward North Korea instead of making enhanced threats, » said Lu, of the Academy of Social Sciences in Liaoning province abutting North Korea.
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3: 20 p.m.
South Korean media says Seoul’s military believes North Korea is readying the launch of a ballistic missile, possibly an ICBM.
Yonhap news agency reports that Seoul’s defense ministry also measures North Korea’s nuclear test at 50 kilotons. The detonation Sunday was the strongest ever from the North, which claimed the test was of a hydrogen bomb.
South Korea responded to the nuclear test with live-fire drills off its eastern coast Monday that were meant to simulate an attack on the North’s main nuclear test site.
