2ND LD: N. Korea says it conducts 1st-ever nuke test+

North Korea said Monday it has successfully conducted an underground nuclear test, an action taken in defiance of international protest and that drew condemnation from its neighbors who said that, if confirmed, the test would be a threat to the region.

It is the first time North Korea has performed a nuclear weapons test. The development came after the North said Oct. 3 it would conduct a nuclear test in the future to bolster its war deterrent.

The test took place before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's summit meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in Seoul.

"The field of scientific research in the DPRK successfully conducted an underground nuclear test under secure conditions on October 9, Juche 95 (2006)," the Korean Central News Agency said.

"It has been confirmed that there was no such dangerous radioactive emission in the course of the nuclear test as it was carried out under a scientific consideration and careful calculation," it said.

A magnitude 3.58 tremor was detected in Hwadae county in the North's remote North Hamkyong Province at around 10:35 a.m. and that was immediately reported to the president, Yoon Tae Young, spokesman for South Korea President Roh Moo Hyun, said in a hastily arranged briefing.

"We are now trying to confirm unconfirmed information that North Korea conducted a nuclear test Monday morning," an unidentified South Korean official said earlier Monday in a report by Yonhap News Agency.

Roh convened an emergency meeting of top officials responsible for national security to discuss the situation at around 11:30 a.m.

The Japanese and U.S. governments have yet to confirm the nuclear test.

Abe told reporters in Seoul that North Korea's nuclear test, if confirmed, is 'absolutely unacceptable."

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said in Tokyo that the North's reported nuclear test "is a serious threat and that Japan will lodge a stern protest."

In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry condemned North Korea's nuclear test.

North Korea "has disregarded general international opposition and flagrantly carried out a nuclear test," the Chinese ministry said in a statement, adding that China has expressed its firm opposition.

China also urged Pyongyang to return to the six-nation nuclear talks "to resolve problems peacefully through dialogue."

The South Korean government also called Pyongyang's nuclear test an "unacceptable provocation."

The U.N. Security Council will convene an emergency meeting to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue Monday morning in New York, council sources said.

If the test is confirmed, Japan and the United States are likely to submit to the Security Council a draft resolution calling for sanctions against Pyongyang, based on Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. This would pave the way for international economic sanctions as well as military options under the world body.

In a Foreign Ministry statement issued Oct. 3, North Korea accused the United States of pressuring it, but it also vowed not to use nuclear weapons as a first-strike option or allow the proliferation of nuclear weapons and material.

Japan, South Korea, the United States and other nations have denounced such action, with the United States warning that Pyongyang would become further isolated in the international community if it carried out a nuclear test.

North Korea earlier defied international calls when it test-launched seven ballistic missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2 believed to be capable of reaching parts of the United States, in the direction of the Sea of Japan on July 5.

Speculation about North Korea preparing for an underground nuclear test had gathered pace in recent months.

North Korea declared in February 2005 that it possessed nuclear weapons, and experts believe it has enough plutonium for as many as 11 nuclear bombs.

As the six-party talks remain stalled, North Korea stunned the global community when it launched missiles July 5 despite a missile moratorium, prompting the U.N. Security Council to unanimously adopt a resolution the following week.

The resolution condemns North Korea for the action and demands it suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programs.

It also urges North Korea to return to the six-party talks and requires U.N. member states to exercise vigilance to prevent the transfer of missile and related materials and technology to the North's programs involving missiles or other weapons of mass destruction.

The North immediately condemned and rejected the resolution, warning that North Korea will "bolster its war deterrent for self-defense in every way by all means and methods now that the situation has reached the worst phase due to the extremely hostile act of the U.S."

The six parties -- the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia -- have held no talks since the last round in November, with North Korea refusing to return to the negotiations unless the United States lifts sanctions it imposed on a Macao-based bank suspected of laundering money and counterfeiting for North Korea.

The United States says the sanctions are a law enforcement matter that should not be linked to the nuclear talks, which were last held in November 2005.

The six countries had agreed in September last year on a joint statement, under which North Korea was to abandon its nuclear programs in exchange for economic aid and diplomatic benefits.