Russia condemned the latest nuclear test by North Korea and considers it a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, a source in the Foreign Ministry told Interfax on Tuesday.
North Korea announced Tuesday that it had conducted an underground nuclear test in the northeast of the country, and the announcement was independently confirmed by international monitoring agencies.
Experts and South Korean officials said the power of the explosion — the biggest one yet — was between six and seven kilotons, reports said.
"We condemn these actions by North Korea and consider them, together with the earlier launch of a ballistic missile carrying a satellite, a violation of the respective UN Security Council's resolutions," a Foreign Ministry official told Interfax.
Pyongyang withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003. The subsequent six-party talks involving Russia, China, North Korea, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan ended in failure in 2009 as North Korea activated its nuclear and missile development programs.
Following the successful launch of a satellite-carrying ballistic missile by North Korea on Dec. 12, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the missile launches and expanding sanctions against North Korea.
North Korea has pledged to continue developing nuclear weapons and missile technology.
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