Magnitude of N.Korea seismic event greater than last one - CTBTO agency

VIENNA, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Preliminary data collected by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in Vienna indicates that the magnitude of the seismic event detected in North Korea on Friday was greater than a previous one in January, the agency's chief said. A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, Ned Price, says Washington is aware of seismic activity on the Korean Peninsula in the vicinity of a known North Korean nuclear test site. Image copyright AP Image caption South Korea's military said the test appeared to be the North's biggest yet

Ms Park, who is cutting short an overseas visit, said the test was a "grave challenge" to the international community that would "only earn more sanctions and isolation" for North Korea. North Korea's state TV said Friday that the test elevated the country's nuclear arsenal and is part of its response to the international sanctions following its earlier nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in January and February. In recent months the North has conducted a series of ballistic missile launches - some of which reached Japanese waters - and has unleashed a rising tide of aggressive rhetoric, threatening nuclear attacks on its enemies. (The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 5.3-magnitude seismic event in North Korea on Friday, near a nuclear test site in the northeastern part of the county.
A 5.3 magnitude seismic event recorded in North Korea is confirmed to be the result of a nuclear weapons test.