North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test

South Korea and Japan report "artificial earthquake" in area where Pyongyang has previously conducted nuclear tests.

A United Nations Security Council diplomat says there has been a nuclear test in North Korea.

"We've been informed by the South Koreans that there's been a [North Korean] nuclear test," a UN Security Council diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

State-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the test was conducted in a safe manner and is aimed at coping with "outrageous" US hostility that "violently" undermines the North's peaceful, sovereign rights to launch satellites."The high-level nuclear test, unlike in the past, had more explosive power and involved a miniaturised and lighter atomic bomb and was staged safely and perfectly," KCNA said.

Event Time

1. 2013-02-12 02:57:51 UTC
2. 2013-02-12 11:57:51 UTC+09:00 at epicenter
3. 2013-02-12 11:57:51 UTC+09:00 system time

Location

41.299°N 129.081°E depth=1.0km (0.6mi)

Nearby Cities

1. 24km (15mi) ENE of Sungjibaegam, North Korea
2. 34km (21mi) WNW of Hau-ri, North Korea
3. 42km (26mi) NNW of Kilju, North Korea
4. 51km (32mi) WSW of Hoemul-li, North Korea
5. 378km (235mi) NE of Pyongyang, North Korea

South Korean news agency Yonhap has reported a magnitude 4.9 "artificial earthquake" in the northern tip of North Korea, where the communist state previously conducted underground nuclear tests.

According to Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, the tremor was recorded at 11:57 am local time on Tuesday.

Scientists in Japan said the earth tremor measured in the northeast of the Korean peninsula was "different from a
normal earthquake", reports said.

"The Japanese meteorological agency detected the wave is different from a normal earthquake and centred at a latitude of 41.2 North and longitude 129.3 East, which is estimated at magnitude 5.2 when converting to an earthquake,"
public broadcaster NHK reported.