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North Korea May Be Preparing for 2nd Nuclear Test

New York Times

SEOUL, Sept. 17 — North Korea may be preparing for a second nuclear test, South Korean and Japanese officials said today, as the Communist state threatened “merciless blows” against any country imposing the sanctions just adopted by the United Nations Security Council.

A spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry called the sanctions a “declaration of war” and said that the regime in Pyongyang was more confident in its ability to deter attacks now that it had joined the nuclear club.

American officials on Monday confirmed for the first time that North Korea did set off a nuclear explosion on Oct. 9, as it claimed, and that the blast was far smaller than would normally be expected, suggesting that the test may have misfired. That could give North Korea two motives for a second test, nuclear scientists and security analysts said: To proclaim defiance of the sanctions and to show that it is capable of a successful nuclear detonation.

In Seoul, a senior South Korean government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said today that there were indications — though not definite evidence — that a second test was being prepared.

“There are certain signs that prompted our authorities to cast a very sensitive eye on the matter,” the official said.

In Tokyo, the Japanese foreign minister, Taro Aso, made a similar statement. “We have received such information, but I cannot tell you the details,” he said.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said today that a second test would be no surprise. “The North Koreans have made no secret of their desire to be provocative,” he told reporters, according to news service accounts. “The first test, while nuclear, did have a low yield, and perhaps it would not be unreasonable to expect that the North Koreans would like to try something again.”

France today responded to word of possible test preparations by warning the regime in Pyongyang that a second blast could lead to “further measures” by the Security Council.

“A new test would constitute an act of extraordinary responsibility,” said Jean-Baptiste Mattei, the foreign ministry spokesman, Agence France-Presse reported.