Australia condemns N Korea nuclear test

Australia has added its voice to a global outcry over the latest nuclear test by
North Korea, which has threatened to carry out more atomic blasts.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith condemned Pyongyang, promising to pursue the matter
in the United Nations, in conjunction with Australia's allies and partners.

Washington warned Pyongyang's underground test was a "threat to international
peace", with the United States among nations preparing to meet in the UN Security
Council later on Monday to discuss the issue.
But North Korea ignored its international critics, with reports from Moscow saying
it had threatened to conduct more tests unless the US ended its policies of
"intimidation".
The world became aware of the latest threat from the renegade Stalinist state when
it announced on Monday it had staged a "successful" underground nuclear weapons
test, which was more powerful than its previous test of an atomic bomb almost three
years ago.
The North "successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test on May 25 as
part of the measures to bolster up its nuclear deterrent for self-defence in every
way as requested by its scientists and technicians", the Korean Central News Agency
said.
Mr Smith told parliament that initial evidence suggested North Korea had conducted
an underground nuclear explosion but it would take a couple of days for atmospheric
tests to verify the information.
Seismic activity recorded in Australia and elsewhere in the region recorded an event
in the order of 4.5 on the Richter scale, which occurred at 10.54am AEST on Monday.
"Australia for the moment is proceeding on the basis that North Korea has conducted
an underground nuclear explosion," Mr Smith said.
"On that basis North Korea is in flagrant breach of its international obligations,
is in flagrant breach of United Nations Security Council resolution 1718 and, as
such, stands condemned.
"On the basis that North Korea has conducted a nuclear underground explosion, they
deserve and get nothing other than our absolute condemnation, and that condemnation
should be echoed around the region and the globe."
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop called for a "strong and
unequivocal response from the international community".
"The Rudd government must work with the international community to bring all
possible pressure on the North Korean military regime to abandon its pursuit of
nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles," she said.
Australian Greens nuclear spokesman Scott Ludlam said the North Korean test was
further evidence that nations couldn't be trusted to separate their civilian and
military nuclear programs.
"North Korea accessed nuclear technology as a non-nuclear weapon state, as it is
encouraged to do under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," Senator Ludlam said.
"Then it withdrew from the treaty to build weapons with its supposedly 'civilian'
nuclear technology."
The Australian Conservation Foundation urged the Rudd government to think seriously
about to whom it sold uranium.
"China and Russia both fail to separate the military from their so-called civilian
nuclear sectors and their nuclear fuel cycle facilities," ACF nuclear campaigner
David Noonan said.
"Any credible conditions on the export of Australian uranium sales must recognise
this."
Canberra has struck a deal to sell uranium to China and is considering whether to
honour an agreement to do the same with Russia.