WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama on Friday condemned in “the strongest possible terms” North Korea's latest and biggest nuclear test, that registered a magnitude-5.3 in seismic activity.
Calling it “a grave threat to regional security and to international peace and stability”, the American leader said Washington "does not and never will" accept North Korea as a nuclear state.
Obama said he consulted with South Korea President Park Geun- and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by telephone after he was informed of North Korea's claim to have conducted a "higher level" nuclear test explosion earlier in the day.
The leaders agreed to work with the UN Security Council and the international community “to implement existing punitive measures imposed on North Korea for prior instances of unlawful nuclear activity”.
Obama said additional steps, including new sanctions, are being considered.
UN Ban Ki-moon also issued a statement condemning "in the strongest possible terms the underground nuclear test.
"I count on the Security Council to remain united and take appropriate action. We must urgently break this accelerating spiral of escalation," Ban said.
The UN Security Council held an urgent meeting and issued a statement of condemnation for what it called a "test which is a clear violation and in flagrant disregard of Security Council resolutions".
Members "will begin to work immediately on appropriate measures" in light of the situation, the statement said late Friday.
Before the meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told reporters the world was "completely united in condemnation" of the nuclear test.
"This is more than brazen defiance. North Korea is seeking to perfect its nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles so they can hold the region and the world hostage under threat of strike," Power said.
"The Council must use every tool at its disposal to change North Korea’s calculus," she added.
The test Friday was North Korea's fifth atomic test and the second in eight months. It reportedly caused a magnitude-5.3 earthquake on the Korean peninsula.
At the Pentagon, Capt. Jeff Davis said Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke to his South Korean counterpart and that those countries senior defense officials, including Japan, would conduct a later Friday.
Davis said the U.S. and its regional partners finalized discussions on deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, (THAAD) anti-missile defense system early next year.
“North Korea has been our best spokesperson for why we need THAAD in the Republic of Korea,” Davis said during a news conference. “As we saw last night and as we saw earlier this week three Nodongs they launched simultaneously into the Sea of Japan,” he added in reference to ballistic missiles developed by North Korea.
According to the spokesman, the U.S. does not believe North Korea has been able to militarize its nuclear capability but Washington takes Pyongyang at its word that it has that ability. The U.S will deploy a specially equipped plane to collect samples from “accessible regions of the atmosphere," Davis said.
“This is a threat we recognize very real and we are always ensuring that we are outpacing it,” he added.
