North Korea Tests A Nuke, Probably Hastening Mankind’s Inevitable Doom

NBC News: “North Korea declared Tuesday that it had carried out a test of a nuclear bomb after the detonation was detected by the U.S. Geological Survey. The explosion was registered as a 5.1-magnitude seismic event by the USGS at 9:57 p.m. ET Monday.”

USA Today: “President Obama on Tuesday called North Korea’s third successful nuclear test a “highly provocative act” that “undermines regional stability” and threatens action by the international community. He said North Korea’s nuclear program constitutes “a threat to U.S. national security.” The White House released the statement early Tuesday after North Korea detonated a miniaturized nuclear device at a northeastern test site, state media said, defying U.N. Security Council orders to shut down atomic activity or face more sanctions and international isolation.”

Reuters: “China, which has shown signs of increasing exasperation with the recent bellicose tone of its neighbor, summoned the North Korean ambassador in Beijing and protested sternly, the Foreign Ministry said. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said China was “strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed” to the test and urged North Korea to “stop any rhetoric or acts that could worsen situations and return to the right course of dialogue and consultation as soon as possible”. China is a permanent member of the Security Council.”

New York Times: ” The nuclear test by North Korea on Tuesday, in defiance of warnings by China, leaves the new Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, with a choice: Does he upset North Korea just a bit by agreeing to stepped up United Nations sanctions, or does he rattle the regime by pulling the plug on infusions of Chinese oil and investments that keep North Korea afloat? The test poses a major foreign policy challenge to Mr. Xi, the new head of the Communist Party, who has said he wants the United States and China to develop a “new type of relationship between two great powers.” How Mr. Xi deals with North Korea in the coming period could tell the United States what kind of leader he will be, and what kind of relationship he envisions with Washington.”

AP: “NATO’s governing body is harshly criticizing North Korea’s recent nuclear test, calling it “irresponsible” and a flagrant violation of U.N. Security council actions. … “This irresponsible act, along with the December missile launch, poses a grave threat to international peace, security and stability,” said a statement from the North Atlantic Council. “North Korea’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction represents continued defiance of the U.N. Security Council and the broader international community.”