The Canadian government is joining an international chorus condemning North Korea’s claim that it conducted its first hydrogen bomb test in defiance of Security Council resolutions.
Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said Canada “unequivocally condemns the behaviour of North Korea, which today claimed to have detonated a nuclear weapon.”
“North Korea’s continued violations of its international obligations pose a grave threat to international peace and security, and particularly to the stability of the region,” Dion said in a statement.
Ottawa’s condemnation comes in the wake of claims by the state-controlled television declaring that Pyongyang had successfully tested a “miniaturized” hydrogen bomb.
North Korea claims the test was a self-defence measure against a potential attack by the U.S. and South Korea, with which the communist regime is still technically at war.
The announcement, however, was met with skepticism. Although seismic activity was detected in the vicinity of a known North Korean nuclear test site on Tuesday, South Korea’s spy agency said the explosion appeared to be much smaller than would be expected, even in the event of a failed H-bomb detonation.
Map locating North Korea’s nuclear facilities.
The White House said Wednesday, that it cannot confirm a nuclear test actually took place.
International condemnation
Nevertheless, Pyongyang’s announcement was condemned by the international community.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the hydrogen bomb claim “deeply troubling” as the UN convened an emergency meeting to discuss the issue.
“This act is profoundly destabilising for regional security and seriously undermines international non-proliferation efforts,” he said Wednesday. “I condemn it unequivocally.”
The UN chief went on to demand that North Korea cease any further nuclear activities and meet its obligations for verifiable denuclearization.
“We are monitoring and assessing developments in close coordination with the concerned international organisations – including the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) – and interested parties,” the secretary general said.
Worried neighbours
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye called it a “grave provocation of our national security,” as well as “a direct challenge to world peace and stability.”
China, Pyongyang’s biggest ally and trading partners, also “firmly” opposes the latest nuclear test, according to a statement on Wednesday from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“China is steadfast in its position that the Korean Peninsula should be denuclearized and nuclear proliferation be prevented to maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia,” foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced at a press briefing.
“This absolutely cannot be tolerated and we strongly condemn this act,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a statement.
With files from The Associated Press.
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