N. Korea informed U.S. of nuke test in advance: official

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea notified the United States of its
intention to conduct a nuclear test less than an hour before it detonated a
nuclear device late Sunday (Washington time), a senior Obama administration
official said Monday.

"On May 24, North Korea notified the State Department of its intention to conduct
a nuclear test, without citing a specific timing, less than one hour prior to
9:00 p.m. eastern time," the official said, asking anonymity.
The U.S. "immediately notified the governments of Japan, South Korea, China, and
Russia" and ordered U.S. technical agencies to "confirm the details of what took
place," the official said.
North Korea notified only China some two hours before its first nuclear
detonation in October 2006. The latest move marks the first time the North
informed the U.S. of its nuclear or ballistic missile tests in advance.
"North Korea must have considered future negotiations with the U.S. when it gave
advance notice of its nuclear test," a diplomatic source here said. "The nuclear
test itself is gravely negative to the North's relations with the U.S., but the
notification can be seen as a small relief."
The notification comes amid allegations that the detonation was intended to draw
the attention of U.S. President Barack Obama, who has said he will seek
multilateral as well as bilateral engagement with North Korea for the North's
complete and verifiable denuclearization.
Obama, however, has yet to reach out to North Korea, though he repeated calls for
the North to return to six-party talks seeking its nuclear dismantlement in
return for hefty economic aid and other political benefits.
The administration official said that the U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed a
May 24 seismic event in North Korea, saying, "This event took place at
approximately 9:00 p.m. eastern time close to the site of North Korea's prior
test of a nuclear explosive device."
"The characteristics suggest a man-made event with an explosive yield of
approximately a few kilotons," he said. "Additional analysis will continue for
the next several days."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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