UN Strongly Condemns North Korea Hydrogen Bomb Test
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The U.N. Security Council strongly condemns North Korea's nuclear test and pledges to pursue new sanctions.
A statement issued by the council after emergency closed-door consultations on Wednesday called the test "a clear violation'' of council resolutions, adding "therefore a clear threat to international peace and security continues to exist.''
The council said it had previously expressed determination to take "further significant measures'' in the event of another North Korean test and would begin work immediately on a new sanctions resolution in light of "the gravity of this violation.''
Before the meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the announcement "profoundly destabilizing for regional security.''
A news anchor made the surprise announcement on North Korean state TV that the country had successfully detonated a powerful hydrogen bomb. She called the event a "perfect success" and cited North Korea's right to defend itself against the U.S.
Leader Kim Jong Un called it an "H-bomb of justice," CBS2's Dick Brennan reported.
South Korea quickly condemned the detonation and called an emergency national security council meeting.
"It's not only grave provocation of our national security, but also an act that threatens our lives and future. It's also a direct challenge to world peace and stability," South Korea's President Park Geun-hye said.
The U.S. and North Korea's neighbors have long imposed sanctions against the nation for pursuing a nuclear program.
"The real danger for the United States is whether or not North Korea has intentions to demonstrate their capabilities as far as the Pacific and certainly to threaten the U.S. continent," CBS News National Security Consultant Juan Zarate said.
An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale was detected near a known North Korean nuclear test site, but some experts -- as well as the White House -- are skeptical that the explosion was a hydrogen bomb.
The White House said the U.S. government's early analysis of underground activity in North Korea "is not consistent'' with that country's claim of having conducted a successful hydrogen bomb test.
Spokesman Josh Earnest also said nothing has happened to change the U.S. government's assessment of North Korea's technical or military capabilities.
"It looks like they tried to make an advance; they didn't get there, but they're bragging about it as if they did," said author Joe Cirincione.
Earnest said the U.S. government is still doing the work that's needed to learn more about the nuclear test North Korea claims to have conducted successfully on Wednesday.
It will take a few days to determine precisely what kind of device was detonated. If confirmed this would be North Korea's fourth nuclear test. The first was carried out in 2006.
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