Aso blasts North's nuclear test as 'grave challenge' to NPT regime+

TOKYO, May 25 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Taro Aso said Monday that North Korea's reported nuclear test is
a ''grave challenge'' to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty regime and a
''clear violation'' of a U.N. Security Council resolution banning the North
from nuclear activity.

North Korea's alleged act is ''totally unacceptable,'' Aso told reporters. ''We
are at an important juncture, when it is of utmost importance for the
international community to respond in unity.''
In a statement issued later, Aso said the act is ''a serious threat to Japan's
security and considerably harms peace and security in Northeast Asia and the
international community, given that North Korea is enhancing its ballistic
missile capability, which could provide a means to transport weapons of mass
destruction.''
Tokyo also lodged a protest with North Korea through embassy channels in
Beijing, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
Aso's statement also said that the nuclear test is ''another grave challenge to
the authority of the U.N. Security Council'' because it was conducted after the
council adopted a presidential statement on April 13 urging Pyongyang to fully
comply with its obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718.
The presidential statement was issued after Pyongyang's April 5 rocket launch,
widely suspected of being a long-range ballistic missile test.
The Japanese leader urged North Korea anew to ''fully observe'' resolution 1718
and to ''take specific action'' toward resolving contentious international
issues related to the communist country, such as its past abductions of
Japanese nationals as well as its nuclear and missile threats.
The Security Council resolution was adopted in October 2006 shortly after
Pyongyang's first nuclear test.
In the statement, Aso also condemned the Pyongyang's nuclear test as a
violation of a joint statement reached at the six-party multilateral talks
aimed at denuclearizing North Korea.
Aso told reporters that he agreed with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak
over the phone Monday to closely cooperate with the United States in
''sternly'' dealing with Pyongyang's nuclear threat.
Asked if he is seeking the adoption of a fresh U.N. Security Council
resolution, Aso reiterated that Monday's nuclear test ''is a clear violation of
an existing U.N. Security Council resolution, and it is only natural (for
Tokyo) to seek (the passage of) a (new) U.N. Security Council resolution.''
The Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting later Monday.
On the possibility of Japan imposing fresh sanctions of its own against
Pyongyang, Aso said, ''We will study what steps we will take after confirming
whether (North Korea) actually conducted a nuclear test. It is appropriate for
the matter to be taken up first at the Security Council.''
==Kyodo