2009 North Korean Nuclear Test

HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - 2009 North Korean Nuclear Test

OR:

2009 North Korean Nuclear Test on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

The 2009 North Korean nuclear test was the underground detonation of a

nuclear device A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

conducted on Monday, 25 May 2009 by the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

.North Korea conducts nuclear test

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

. 25 May 2009. This was its second nuclear test, the

first test ''First Test'', is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first book in the series ''Protector of the Small''. It details the first year of Keladry of Mindelan's training as a page of Tortall. Plot introduction ''Protector of the Small'' is set ...

having taken place in October 2006.Kim, Sam
N. Korea appears to have conducted nuclear test: source
Yonhap New Agency. 2009/05/25. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests. A scientific paper later estimated the yield as 2.35 kilotons.Lian‐Feng Zhao, Xiao‐Bi Xie, Wei‐Min Wang, Zhen‐Xing Yao,
Yield Estimation of the 25 May 2009 North Korean Nuclear Explosion
", ''Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America'', April 2012 vol. 102 no. 2 467–478. The test was nearly universally condemned by the

international community The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. As a rhetorical term Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is ...

. Following the test, the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

passed

Resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

condemning the test and tightening sanctions on the country. It was widely believed that the test was conducted as a result of the succession crisis in the country. After

Kim Jong-Il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

suffered a stroke in the summer of 2008, arrangements were made for his third son,

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

, to take power upon his death. It is believed the North Koreans conducted the nuclear test to show that, even in a time of possible weakness, it did not intend to give up its nuclear weapons program.

Background

North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK) had threatened to conduct a second nuclear test in protest after the

adopted a

presidential statement A Presidential Statement is often created when the United Nations Security Council cannot reach consensus or are prevented from passing a resolution by a permanent member's veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. I ...

condemning the country after it launched a rocket, which it claimed was carrying the

Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 ( ko, 광명성 2호, meaning Bright Star-2 or Lode Star-2) was a satellite launched by North Korea on April 5, 2009. Prior to the launch, concern was raised by other nations, particularly the United States, South Korea and ...

satellite, on 5 April 2009. The launch was condemned by several nations, describing it as an

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

test. The test also came after recent messages stating that North Korea had miniaturized

nuclear warhead A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

s for medium-range missiles and that the country had been recognized by analysts as a fully fledged nuclear power. In June 2009, after it was announced that

was to be the intended successor of North Korean leader

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

, U.S. government analysts speculated that the purpose of the nuclear test was to establish North Korea as a nuclear power within Kim Jong-il's lifetime.

North Korean statements

Without citing a specific time,

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

notified both Washington, D.C. and Beijing of the test about an hour before the actual detonation, which occurred around 10:00

Korea Standard Time South Korea has one time zone, Korea Standard Time ( UTC+09:00), which is abbreviated KST. South Korea currently does not observe daylight saving time, but experimented with it during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. History In 1434, inventor ...

(KST) Monday; the U.S. State Department promptly contacted the four other

six-party talks The six-party talks aimed to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program. There was a series of meetings with six participating states in Beijing: * China * Japan * North Korea ...

members. The state-run

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onlin ...

(KCNA) released an announcement claiming, in part, that: This was interpreted as referring to the disputes over the low yield of the 2006 test.

Seismic activity

South Korea and Japan reported seismic activity at 09:50 KST (00:50 UTC). The

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

reported a magnitude 4.7 earthquake at a depth of zero and put the center of the tremor about northwest of

Kimchaek Kimch'aek (), formerly Sŏngjin (Chosŏn'gŭl: 성진, Hancha: 城津), is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It was an open port in 1899. It has a population of 207,699. Etymology The city received its current name in 1951 durin ...

and northeast of Pyongyang, within a few kilometres of the country's 2006 nuclear test site.Earthquake shakes North Korea
. CNN. 24 May 2009. The

Japan Meteorological Agency The , abbreviated JMA, is an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in Japan that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation an ...

measured the seismic activity at magnitude 5.3. The Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources reported seismic activity in the same area but far stronger than in 2006. The Russian

Defence Ministry {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a g ...

confirmed it had detected a nuclear detonation in North Korea and was analysing the data to determine the yield. Geophysical Service of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

has registered underground nuclear explosion conducted in North Korea on 25 May 2009. Registration time of this explosion was 0:54 am. GMT (4:54 a.m.

Moscow time Moscow Time (MSK, russian: моско́вское вре́мя) is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia, and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second-westernmost of the eleven time zones of Russia. It has b ...

) with magnitude 5.0. In China, tremors were felt in the prefecture of

Yanbian Yanbian (; Chosŏn'gŭl: , ''Yeonbyeon''), officially known as the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture in the east of Jilin Province, China. Yanbian is bordered to the north by Heilongjiang Province, on the west by ...

, which borders North Korea, and forced students in some local schools to be evacuated. The test is believed to have taken place at

Mantapsan Mantapsan (or Mount Mant'ap, Chosŏn'gŭl: ) is a mountain in the south of North Hamgyong Province in North Korea. The granite peak, which reaches an elevation of , is part of the Hamgyong Mountains. It is located on the border between Kilju Coun ...

in the vicinity of P'unggyeri (Korean: ), which was the site of the nuclear test held in 2006.

Analysis of test

Yield

Analysts have generally agreed that the nuclear test was successful, despite uncertainty of the exact yield. The U.S. intelligence community assessed that North Korea "probably" had conducted a nuclear test with a yield of "a few

kilotons TNT equivalent is a convention for expressing energy, typically used to describe the energy released in an explosion. The is a unit of energy defined by that convention to be , which is the approximate energy released in the detonation of a m ...

". The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission assessed the yield at only slightly larger than the 2006 test, which was one kiloton. Based on readings from 23 seismic stations, the Preparatory Commission estimated the blast to have a seismic magnitude of 4.52, corresponding to an explosive yield of 2.4 kilotons, compared to a seismic magnitude of 4.1, corresponding to a yield of 0.8 kilotons, for the 2006 blast.Ramstad, Evan and Jay Solomon, Peter Spiegel,
Korean Blast Draws Outrage
''Wall Street Journal'', 26 May 2009. Accessed 11 June 2009.

2009-08-02. Russia placed the yield of the test significantly higher at 10 to 20 kilotons. This was approximately the yield of the

Fat Man "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) is the codename for the type of nuclear bomb the United States detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the fir ...

and

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

bombs developed by the United States during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. However, the Russians had also previously estimated a far higher yield of 5 to 10 kilotons when other sources estimated a yield of 0.5 to 0.9 kilotons in the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

test as well. Defense Minister Lee Sang-Hee of South Korea said that more data were needed but that the yield might be between 1 and 20 kilotons. Analyst Martin Kalinowski at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

estimated the yield at being from 3 to 8 kilotons, still a very successful test when compared with the 2006 test.

Hans M. Kristensen Hans Møller Kristensen (born April 7, 1961) is director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. He writes about nuclear weapons policy there; he is coauthor of the Nuclear Notebook column in the Bulletin of ...

of the

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...

cautioned that "early news media reports about a 'Hiroshima-size' nuclear explosion seem to be overblown". The ''

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' is a nonprofit organization concerning science and global security issues resulting from accelerating technological advances that have negative consequences for humanity. The ''Bulletin'' publishes conte ...

'' asserted that the blast was more powerful than the 2006 test, though put the yield between 2 and 6 kilotons, but likely less than 4 kilotons and far short of a Hiroshima-type device. The group concluded that the bomb failed to detonate correctly, but even so the potential of this weapon should not be dismissed. However, after the subsequent nuclear test in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, a state-run geology research institute in Germany, estimated the yield ranging from a minimum of 5 kilotons to the maximum of 12 kilotons and the 2006 test ranging from minimum of 700 tons to the maximum of 2 kilotons instead with relevant statistics. Similarly, the

University of Science and Technology of China A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

has estimated the yield of this test to be at 7kT with an error margin of 1.9kT (5.1kT to 8.9kT) while presenting their estimation for the nuclear test on 9 September 2016.

Lack of radionuclide confirmation

In June 2009, the Preparatory Commission for the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is an international organization that will be established upon the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, a Convention that outlaws nuclear test explosions. It ...

(CTBTO) announced that no

radionuclide A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ways: emitted from the nucleus as gamma radiation; transfer ...

s had been detected that could be associated with the 25 May event. At the time of the test, the CTBTO global network included 40 radionuclide sampling stations. In addition, the United States reported that no radionuclides were detected by aircraft over the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

(East Sea of Korea), and South Korea also reported that no radionuclides were detected. By contrast, radionuclides were detected in at least two locations after the 2006 event. Lack of detection does not mean that the event was non-nuclear: it is reasonable for a nuclear test with this yield, buried deep enough in the appropriate rock, to not yield remotely detectable radionuclides, but it makes it more difficult to prove whether the test was nuclear.

Missile tests

On the same day, North Korea also conducted short-range surface-to-air missile tests. The number of fired missiles was first reported as three, but corrected to two by the South Korean defense ministry on 27 May 2009. The first missile had a range of . The South Korean news agency

Yonhap Yonhap News Agency is a major South Korean news agency. It is based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap provides news articles, pictures and other information to newspapers, TV networks and other media in South Korea. History Yonhap (, , translit. ' ...

cited military officials as saying that the launches seemed to be aimed at keeping U.S. and Japanese surveillance planes away from the site. On 26 May 2009, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing officials, that North Korea fired three more short-range missiles off an east-coast base, one ground-to-ship missile and one surface-to-air missile. The move came as UN diplomats began work on a resolution to punish North Korea for its underground nuclear test. By 27 May 2009, at least five short range missiles were launched by North Korea. A military spokesman quoted by official media said that North Korea could no longer guarantee the safety of shipping off its west coast, suggesting a missile could also be fired in that direction. Another short-range missile was fired off North Korea's east coast on 28 May 2009. On 29 May 2009, U.S. officials said that satellite photos revealed vehicle activity at two sites in North Korea suggesting that North Korean military might be preparing to launch a long-range ballistic missile. This was reaffirmed on 1 June 2009 by Defense Secretary

Robert M. Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush an ...

who said at a news conference with his

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

counterpart during a brief visit to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

"We have seen some signs that they may be doing something with another

Taepodong-2 The Taepodong-2 (TD-2, also spelled as Taep'o-dong 2)
Federation of American Scientists, May 30, 2008 ( ko, � ...

missile, but at this point it's not clear what they're doing". Yonhap news agency reported on 2 June 2009 that North Korea was readying as many as three medium-range missiles (according to some analysts, Rodong missiles) at a missile base in Anbyon region, Gangwon Province, northeast of the capital of Pyongyang. In addition, a South Korean defence ministry spokesman said that signs that North Korea was preparing to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) had been detected. verifying US defense officials' reports and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates's statement made on 1 June. North Korea apparently has moved the ICBM to a new base in Dongchang-ri along its west coast and a launch could take place in one or two weeks, according to Yonhap.

International reaction

The North Korean news agency

KCNA The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onl ...

confirmed the test as "successful". The agency also said the test was "aimed at strengthening its self-defense nuclear deterrent in every way". South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported citing KCNA that citizens of Pyongyang held a rally to celebrate the country's second successful nuclear test on 26 May. In general the International reactions to the 2009 North Korean nuclear test have been almost uniformly negative.

Members of the six-party talks

* South Korea:

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; ; ; born 19 December 1941) is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the ma ...

called an emergency cabinet meeting.Kim, Jack
North Korea conducts nuclear test: report
Reuters. 24 May 2009. The decision was made to join the

Proliferation Security Initiative The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a global effort that aims to stop trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems, and related materials to and from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern. L ...

, a move which the North has repeatedly warned would be construed as a declaration of war. The

ROK-US Combined Forces Command ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) was established in 1978. South Korean forces remain independent unless during a time of war in which they will subordinate themselves to the command. It is commanded by a four-star U.S. general and its Deputy ...

raised its surveillance condition from WATCHCON3 (important indications of threat) to WATCHCON2 (vital indications of threat). President Lee Myung-bak made another statement at the beginning of the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit saying "We will continue to work to have North Korea observe UN Security Council resolutions". On 27 May, North Korea's permanent military mission to the north–south joint security area reacted to S. Korea's decision to join the Proliferation Security Initiative saying it no longer is bound to the Korean War armistice and will militarily respond to any foreign attempt to inspect its ships. * People's Republic of China: The Foreign Ministry released a statement: "The DPRK ignored universal opposition of the international community and once more conducted the nuclear test. The Chinese government is resolutely opposed to it". The statement also strongly demanded that North Korea "return to the tracks of the six-party talks". * Japan: Japan said the test was "unacceptable" and a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. It was also considering tightening sanctions in response.FACTBOX: Reaction to North Korea's nuclear test
Reuters, 25 May 2009 * Russia: The

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with lea ...

stated that "The latest steps of the DPRK escalate tensions in Northeast Asia and endanger regional security and stability" and violated UN Security Council Resolution 1718, but added that "We still think that the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula may be resolved only at the six-nation negotiations". Natalya Timakova, the

Press Attaché In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or Brand awareness, awareness for any Product (business), product, Service (economics), service, person or organization (company, Charitable organization, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the mov ...

to the

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

said Russia "is seriously concerned" about North Korea's nuclear test and that "Russian competent services express regret and voice serious concern about North Korea's nuclear test in the area adjacent to the Russian Federation". * United States: The

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

condemned the test, saying "North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community. The danger posed by North Korea's threatening activities warrants action by the international community."North Korea's second nuclear test stirs outrage
CNN. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009.

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's official statement promised that North Korea would not find "international acceptance" unless it complied. He also said that the country's actions "pose a grave threat to the peace and stability of the world".

Susan Rice Susan Elizabeth Rice (born November 17, 1964) is an American diplomat, policy advisor, and public official serving as Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Rice served as the 27th ...

US ambassador to the UN The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...

, added that, "North Korea needs to understand that its actions have consequences" and that they would "pay a price for their action," in the form of further sanctions.

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush an ...

, the

US Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...

, delivered a stark warning to North Korea, on 30 May 2009 "The policy of the United States has not changed," he said. "Our goal is complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, and we will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state."

Aftermath

News of the tests immediately affected South Korean markets, sending the main

KOSPI The Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI (코스피지수) is the index of all common stocks traded on the Stock Market Division—previously, Korea Stock Exchange—of the Korea Exchange. It is the representative stock market index of ...

share index down 4%, while the

South Korean won The Korean Republic won, unofficially the South Korean won ( Symbol: ₩; Code: KRW; Korean: 대한민국 원) is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used f ...

dropped by 1% against the US$ on the day of the nuclear test, 25 May. The

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

fell to 95.10 per dollar from its level of 94.78 on 22 May. On 28 May, North Korea threatened to end the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

armistice, stating that "the Korean peninsula will go back to a state of war", whereupon the joint military command of South Korea and the United States increased its surveillance alert level from

WATCHCON WATCHCON (Watch Condition)Transcript : DoD News Brief ...

3 to WATCHCON 2, the second-highest level of surveillance alert. However, the five-stage combat alert level remained at

DEFCON The defense readiness condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces. (DEFCON is not mentioned in the 2010 and newer document) The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and unified and spe ...

4, the second-lowest level. Russia undertook security measures in case the war of nerves on the Korean peninsula erupted into a nuclear war. North Korea also threatened on 29 May to attack South Korean and US warships near its coast if its sovereignty were infringed. In Japan a policy debate ensued regarding strengthening its military up to and including the possibility of an independent pre-emptive strike capability and even nuclear armaments, subjects hitherto taboo. On 30 May, the United Kingdom's

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

confirmed that a

VC10 The Vickers VC10 is a mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd and first flown at Brooklands, Surrey, in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance route ...

tanker plane, which is used for air-to-air refueling, had been sent to

Kadena Air Base (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highl ...

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan to help support the investigations, led by the U.S. military, to determine the power of the nuclear explosion and the type of material that was used. A Ministry spokesman said: "Following the recent events in North Korea and to support the international community's efforts during this time of increased political tension, we can confirm that the UK is supporting in the associated verification efforts". On the same day, a U.S.

F-22 The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...

fighter jet arrived on Kadena Air Base, the first of twelve F-22's and approximately 280

Langley Air Force Base Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News, Virginia, Newport News. It was one of List of airfields of the Training Section of the United States Army Air Service, thirty-two ...

Airmen from the

94th Fighter Squadron The 94th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. The 94th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor. The 94 FS is one of the oldest units in the United States Ai ...

, along with members of the Virginia Air National Guard's 192nd Fighter Wing, that are being deployed to Kadena Air Base as part of a theatre security package. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg accompanied by

Stephen Bosworth Stephen Warren Bosworth (December 4, 1939 – January 4, 2016) was an American academic and diplomat. He served as Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and served as United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy from March ...

, the U.S. special envoy on North Korea, led a U.S. delegation to Asia on 1 June 2009 to consult regional forces on how to respond to North Korea's latest nuclear test. The delegation also includes Stuart Levy, the Treasury under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, and Admiral James Winnefeld of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

. Japan approved on 2 June 2009 plans for a satellite missile early warning system as part of a new space policy document, a year after Japan dropped a decades-old ban on military use of space with some ruling party lawmakers suggesting Japan should inspect North Korean ships, in the wake of reports that N. Korea was preparing to fire more mid-range missiles. On the same day, as a response to the increased activity of the N. Korean military and after reports that North Koreans have stepped up naval drills near the western sea border, the site of deadly skirmishes between the two Koreas in 1999 and 2002, South Korea deployed a high-speed naval vessel, the Yoon Youngha guided missile patrol boat, to the area and vowed to "punish" any attacking forces. After the North Korean nuclear test the U.S. has approved the sale of a number of weapon systems to South Korea, including

GBU-28 The GBU-28 is a 5,000-pound (2,268 kg) class laser-guided "bunker busting" bomb produced originally by the Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, New York. It was designed, manufactured, and deployed in less than three weeks due to an urgent need ...

"bunker buster" bombs, SM-2 Standard surface-to-air Missiles and

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

Block 32 Aircraft Upgrades improving the aircraft and increasing the South Korean military's operational abilities. The South Korean military has prepared plans for a counter-attack in the event of a first strike by North Korea

UNSC Resolution 1874

The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1874 in response to the test, imposing further economic sanctions on the country and authorising UN member states to inspect North Korean cargo and destroy any that may be involved in the nuclear weapons program.UN toughens North Korea sanctions

BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...

, 12 June 2009 In response to the sanctions, an unidentified spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry released a statement through the official

saying that the country would begin to "weaponize" its plutonium stockpiles. The spokesman also said the country "will start

uranium enrichment Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238U ...

" and would view any US-led attempts to "blockade" it as an "act of war". The statement was said to have lacked the usual bitterness of most North Korean statements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Korean Nuclear Test, 2009

Nuclear test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Underground nuclear weapons testing May 2009 events in Asia