Abe, Roh discuss N Korea's nuclear test; Japan, U.S. to take it to U.N.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe started talks with South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun at the presidential Blue House on Monday just hours after North Korea said it had conducted a nuclear test in defiance of international calls against such action.

Abe, on his first official overseas trip, arrived in Seoul from Beijing in the morning after meeting Chinese leaders Sunday.

"I am aware of the declaration by North Korea that it has conducted a nuclear test," Abe told reporters traveling with him in Seoul. "Japan is in contact with the United States and China for intelligence analysis...and I will discuss with the South Korean side how to respond. I have instructed the chief Cabinet secretary to gather and analyze information regarding whether a nuclear test was actually conducted," Abe said.

In Tokyo, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer told reporters after meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki and Foreign Minister Taro Aso, "We agreed to monitor this situation and to work together to take it to the United Nations for further action."

"The United States is prepared to honor its commitment to its allies in Japan as well as Korea," he added.

While suggesting Washington has yet to confirm that North Korea conducted a nuclear test, Schieffer said, "This is a very grave situation and we all are following it with great intensity."

"Speaking on the assumption that a nuclear test is confirmed, the nuclear test will bring a serious crisis to the peace and stability not only of Northeast Asia but the world," Aso said, after earlier talking to South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the phone.

Asked if it is possible to issue a U.N. resolution other than the one adopted over North Korea's ballistic missiles July 5, Aso said, "There is a high possibility it will come out. Japan, for its part, wants to have one."

He suggested a Chapter 7 resolution, which would pave the way for the use of force or economic sanctions, may be in order. He was referring to Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.

Japan had already imposed sanctions such as blocking fund transfers to entities linked to Pyongyang's missile and weapons programs, including 12 already listed under U.S. sanctions.

Following the reported nuclear test, the Foreign Ministry said it launched an emergency task force headed by Aso at 11:30 a.m. to gather more information.

North Korea is believed to have conducted the test in the eastern part of the country, Yonhap News Agency quoted a senior Defense Ministry official as saying. A magnitude 3.58 tremor was detected in Hwadae county in the North's remote North Hamkyong Province at around 10:35 a.m.

Meanwhile, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said: "The field of scientific research in the DPRK successfully conducted an underground nuclear test under secure conditions on Oct 9, Juche 95 (2006). It has been confirmed that there was no such dangerous radioactive emission in the course of the nuclear test as it was carried out under a scientific consideration and careful calculation.

"The nuclear test is a historic event that brought happiness to the our military and people," KCNA added. "The nuclear test will contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and surrounding region."

In South Korea, Roh convened an emergency meeting of top officials responsible for national security to discuss the situation. Presidential spokesman Yoon Tae Young said, "North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons cannot be tolerated."

South Korea will take "stern responses" to the nuclear test in accordance with its principles," Yoon said.

Yonhap News Agency quoted a Unification Ministry official as saying the government has initially decided to suspend a scheduled shipment of 4,000 tons of concrete to the North, which was to be part of a one-time package of humanitarian aid worth some $250 million.

South Korea wants the U.N. Security Council to immediately take up the North's nuclear test and discuss how to respond, the spokesman said.