Condemning the North Korean Nuclear Test

The international community on Wednesday demanded North Korea halt any further nuclear testing and “unequivocally” condemned North Korea’s latest provocations. Secretary of State John Kerry called the “latest nuclear test”—the fourth since 2006—a “grave threat to international peace and security,” and said the United States “will not accept North Korea as a nuclear armed state.” The United Nations Security Council called the test a “clear violation” of multiple Security Council resolutions. In a Jan. 6 statement, the Council’s 15 members “recalled that they have previously expressed their determination to take ‘further significant measures’ in the event of another DPRK nuclear test,” and vowed to “work immediately on such measures in a new Security Council resolution.” Also on Wednesday, President Obama discussed the international response with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, reaffirming the “unshakeable US commitment” to the security of both countries, according to White House read outs of the conversations. Defense Secretary Ash Carter also discussed “potential responses” to the alleged nuclear test with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo on Wednesday, reaffirming “the United States’ ironclad commitment to South Korea’s defense,” including “all aspects of the United States’ extended deterrence,” according to a Defense Department release. (See also House Armed Services Committee statement.)