International   

Neighbours warn N. Korea on test

U.S. deploys surveillance plane in region

PHOTO: AFP

POINTED REMINDERS: A woman looks at displays of North Korea's Scud-B missile (right), which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and South Korean missiles at the War Memorial in Seoul on Thursday.

SEOUL: South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun reportedly ordered his Government on Thursday to send a ``grave warning'' to North Korea about a threatened nuclear weapons test, a day after China issued its strongest rebuke yet on the matter.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was working with North Korea to try to dissuade it from a test.

Amid the rising tensions, a U.S. military plane capable of detecting radiation took off from southern Japan, believed to be part of U.S. efforts to monitor for signs of a possible nuclear test by North Korea, Japan's Kyodo News agency said.

Contingency plan

``We must do everything so that that doesn't happen,'' Mr. Lavrov said at a news conference on a visit to Warsaw. ``We are working with the leadership of North Korea to stop steps that could negatively impact the situation.''

Mr. Roh ordered the Government to draw up a ``contingency plan'' if the nuclear standoff with North Korea worsens, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, citing unidentified presidential staff.

Later in the evening, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso held a 20-minute telephone call, agreeing that a nuclear test by North Korea is unacceptable and pledging to step up diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis.

North Korea threatened on Tuesday to conduct a nuclear test to prove the country is a nuclear power. Pyongyang claims it has nuclear weapons and needs them to deter a U.S. attack, but hasn't performed any known test to verify that.

The North's announcement prompted outcry from a host of nations including China, the North's main ally. Beijing's ambassador to the United Nations urged Pyongyang on Wednesday not to go ahead with a test, warning of ``serious consequences.''

Wang Guangya said at the U.N. that ``no one is going to protect'' North Korea, if it goes ahead with ``bad behaviour.''

``I think if North Koreans do have the nuclear test, I think that they have to realise that they will face serious consequences,'' Mr. Wang said.

The comment was China's most forceful public response yet to its ally's announcement, and a break with Beijing's usual conciliatory strategy of avoiding warnings to or criticism of the North.

The fresh rebukes spell trouble for North Korea, which faces a relatively united front against its nuclear aspirations, in sharp contrast to the fractured reaction to a series of North Korean missile tests in July. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

LTTE must cease violence: Colombo
Thai martial law to continue
Neighbours warn N. Korea on test
Rockets defused near Parliament
The buzz in Frankfurt
The language police in Malaysia
Texas standoff ends
Turkish author on trial
Premier approved
Pakistan watching Afzal case
`Kanishka' bombing: racism alleged in response
India not reciprocating, says Mirwaiz
Ban on child labour welcomed

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu