The UN Security Council has discussed further sanctions against North Korea in New York on Friday after the country’s reported fifth nuclear test.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the council “to unite and take urgent actions”.
“This is yet another brazen breach of the resolutions of the Security Council,” Ban said in a statement, AP reported.
“Rather than pursuing nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology, the DPRK should be promoting the wellbeing of the country’s people,” Ban added, emphasizing that the test endangered peace and security in the region and was a “reminder of the urgent need to strengthen the global nuclear test ban regime”.
Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, also urged the 15-member group to remain united and take action to “urgently break this accelerating spiral of escalation”.
Early Friday, North Korea said its scientists carried out a test “for the judgment of the power of a nuclear warhead”, according to its official news agency, KCNA.
The test triggered a magnitude 5.3 earthquake, suggesting that the blast—with an energy of about 10 kilotons—could have been the largest ever conducted by the country.
Pyongyang state television announced the “nuclear warhead explosion” in a live broadcast, saying it could now mount nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets.
Late Friday, the UN Security Council said it had agreed to draft a new resolution to challenge Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
“In line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin to work immediately on appropriate measures” in a new resolution,” the statement said.
In March, the UN Security Council imposed its toughest sanctions yet on Pyongyang, after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test.
