North Korea draws condemnation

3:15 p.m.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea faced global condemnation and calls for harsh sanctions today after it announced that it had set off an atomic explosion underground, a test that thrusts the secretive communist state into the elite club of nuclear-armed nations.

The United States, Japan, China and Britain led a united chorus of criticism, with President Bush saying the reported test poses a threat to global peace and security, and “deserves an immediate response” by the U.N. Security Council, which met to discuss the crisis.

Mr. Bush said he had called the leaders of South Korea, China, Russia and Japan, and all had reaffirmed a commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

The reported test came one day after the ninth anniversary of reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s accession to power.

Members of the 15-nation Security Council were unanimous in denouncing the claim amid worldwide concern that it could seriously destabilize the region, with even North Korean ally China saying it strongly opposed to the move.

“No one defended it, no one even came close to defending it,” U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said. “I was very impressed by the unanimity of the council … on the need for a strong and swift answer to what everyone agreed amounted to a threat to international peace and security.”

The Security Council had warned the impoverished and isolated nation just two days earlier not to go through with a test, and Mr. Bolton said Washington will seek U.N. sanctions to curb North Korea’s import and export of material for weapons of mass destruction, as well as its illicit financial activities.

Mr. Bolton and key U.S. allies, including Britain and France, said they would seek a resolution under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter that would seek punishing measures, going beyond the limited sanctions in a measure adopted by the council in July after North Korea conducted seven missile tests.

Chapter 7 grants the council the authority to impose a range of measures including breaking diplomatic ties, imposing economic and military action.

The Bush administration repeatedly has said it has no plans to invade North Korea and military action appeared unlikely. But the U.S. proposed stringent U.N. sanctions today, including a trade ban on military and luxury items, the power to inspect all cargo entering or leaving the country, and freezing assets connected with Pyongyang’s weapons programs, according to a copy of the draft obtained by The Associated Press.

North Korea’s U.N. ambassador Pak Gil Yon said the Security Council should congratulate his country instead of passing “useless” resolutions or statements.

Iranian state radio, meanwhile, blamed North Korea’s reported nuclear test on U.S. pressure, saying the test “was a reaction to America’s threats and humiliation.”

Iran has said it will not abandon uranium enrichment despite the threat of international sanctions over its disputed nuclear program, which Tehran insists is purely for peaceful purposes.

Mr. Bush said the United States was still attempting to confirm that a nuclear test had actually taken place. Still, he said, “such a claim itself constitutes a threat to international peace and security.”

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