SEOUL, Oct 3: North Korea said on Tuesday it would conduct its first nuclear test, and Washington warned it would respond to such an ‘unacceptable threat’ to world peace.

A statement by the foreign ministry of the communist state blamed a US ‘threat of nuclear war and sanctions’ for forcing its hand.

Pyongyang’s announcement was condemned by neighbouring Japan, and South Korea heightened its security alert. Britain said a test would have serious consequences for North Korea. Russia urged North Korea to show restraint.

China, North Korea’s main supplier of aid, gave no immediate response.

“The US extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK (North Korea) to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a corresponding measure for defence,” said the statement carried by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency.

It added that it would never use nuclear weapons first and would ‘do its utmost to realise the denuclearisation of the peninsula and give impetus to the world-wide nuclear disarmament and the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons.’

US CONDEMNATION: The US State Department quickly released a statement in Cairo, where Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was meeting Arab officials.

“A North Korea test would severely undermine our confidence in the North Koreans’ commitment to six-party talks and would pose an unacceptable threat to peace and stability in Asia and the world,” it said.

“The US will continue to work with its allies and partners to discourage such a reckless action and will respond appropriately,” it added.

US Ambassador John Bolton urged the UN Security Council to respond to the North Korean move. “Obviously the ballistic missiles, if mated with nuclear weapons, would be a very grave threat to international peace and security,” he said before consultations among the 15 council members.

Analysts say North Korea probably has enough fissile material to make six to eight nuclear bombs but not the technology to make one small enough to mount on a missile.

Pyongyang’s most extreme sabre-rattling to date appeared aimed at trying to force Washington into direct one-to-one talks and to end a painful crackdown on impoverished North Korea’s offshore bank accounts, analysts said.

Washington has rejected the idea of bilateral talks until Pyongyang returns to the six-party negotiations.

North Korea blamed the United States for the latest ratcheting up of tension on the Korean peninsula and accused Washington of trying to topple its government with the financial crackdown. —- Reuters