PH condemns North Korea nuclear test

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines on Tuesday, February 11 condemned North Korea’s nuclear test in “clear” violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (SDA) said that the government “deplores the series of acts of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) that have violated” resolutions 1695 (2006), 1718 (2006) and 1874 (2009) which demanded that Pyongyang not conduct any further atomic tests.

“The Philippines joins its international partners in urging the DPRK to desist from continuing these acts of provocation and to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs (…) in the interest of genuine confidence-building towards peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the Asia-Pacific Region,” the DFA added.

North Korea appeared to have carried out a threatened nuclear test on Tuesday, with international monitoring agencies reporting a seismic event near the site of the atomic test site.

Pyongyang had been threatening a “higher-level” nuclear test for weeks despite warnings of severe repercussions from the UN Security Council.

If confirmed, it would mark the third time the North has detonated a nuclear device, following previous tests in 2006 and 2009.

The UN Security Council will meet later on Tuesday for emergency consultations on the issue.

South Korea is the current president of the 15-member Security Council and had been calling for strong action against its arch-rival neighbor in the event of a nuclear test. – with reports from Carlos Santamaria & Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com