North Korea Says Nuclear Test Successful

A South Korean Army soldier walks by a signboard showing distances to North Korea's capital Pyongyang from Imjingang railway station, in the Imjingak Pavilion, near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, South Korea , Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006. North Korea's threatened nuclear test moved to the top of the diplomatic agenda Sunday as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flew to China to try to coordinate international pressure on Pyongyang to desist. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) (Ahn Young-joon - AP)

The North has refused for a year to attend six-party international talks aimed at persuading it to disarm. The country pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003 after U.S. officials accused it of a secret nuclear program, allegedly violating an earlier nuclear pact between Washington and Pyongyang.

A U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in July after a series of North Korean missile launches imposed limited sanctions on North Korea and demanded that the reclusive communist nation suspend its ballistic missile program _ a demand the North immediately rejected.

The resolution bans all U.N. member states from selling material or technology for missiles or weapons of mass destruction to North Korea _ and it bans all countries from receiving missiles, banned weapons or technology from Pyongyang.

Speculation over a possible North Korean test arose earlier this year after U.S. and Japanese reports cited suspicious activity at a suspected underground test site.

South Korean and Chinese envoys to North Korean disarmament talks prepared Monday to confer on North Korea's announcement that it had conducted a nuclear test.

South Korea's envoy, Chun Yung-woo, was on a plane to Beijing when North Korea made its announcement. Upon his arrival in Beijing, Chun said he was caught unaware and wanted first to consult with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, before commenting.

The South Korean and Japanese leaders were expected to meet in Seoul on Monday to discuss how to resolve the nuclear impasse and repair soured ties between their countries.

On Sunday in Beijing, Abe held summit talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and they pledged to work to persuade North Korea to call off the test and rejoin the six-nation talks.

South Korean stocks plunged Monday following North Korea's announcement of the test. The South Korean won also fell sharply. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, fell as low as 1,303.62, or 3.6 percent.

Markets in South Korea, the world's 10th-largest economy, have long been considered vulnerable to potential geopolitical risks emanating from the North. The two countries, which fought the 1950-53 Korean War, are divided by the world's most heavily armed border.