N Korea conducts nuclear test, drawing world ire

SEOUL, Oct 9 (Reuters) World powers condemned North Korea today after it said it conducted an underground nuclear test and the UN Security Council prepared a stern response that could further impoverish and isolate the communist state.

China, Pyongyang's strongest political and economic backer, denounced the test by its neighbor as ''brazen,'' and urged it to avoid action that could worsen the situation. Russian President Vladimir Putin also condemned the test.

US President George W. Bush called it a ''provocative act'' that threatened international peace and security and required an immediate response from the U.N. Security Council.

Today's announcement by Pyongyang sharply escalated world concerns over North Korea's nuclear program and was a slap in the face for major regional and world powers engaged in six-party talks intended to prevent just such a test.

It delivered a sharp blow to Chinese President Hu Jintao's doctrine of using economic incentives and diplomatic coaxing to avert North Korea's drive to become a nuclear weapons state. Only seven states have acknowledged having nuclear weapons.

Britain and France said they would support sanctions. ''The discussion will be on sanctions,'' France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere told reporters on his way into UN Security Council session. ''The time has come to have a Chapter 7 resolution.'' Chapter 7 makes a resolution mandatory for all UN members and allows for sanctions and even war. But the Security Council has to state specifically what kind of action members want.

US Ambassador John Bolton presented the Security Council with elements of a resolution that would include international inspection of cargo going in and out of North Korea to check for weapons of mass destruction and related materials, diplomats said.

Other proposals included a total arms embargo and a freeze on assets associated with Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction.

ECONOMIC IMPACT North Korea's announcement pushed the dollar to an eight-month high against the yen and helped shove oil above a barrel. South Korea's won fell to two-month lows, but US blue chip stocks were little changed.

Bush said North Korea had been a leading proliferator of missile technology, including transfers to Iran and Syria, and warned Pyongyang against such a transfer of nuclear weapons.

''The transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States and we would hold North Korea fully accountable for consequences of such action,'' he said.

Bush said he spoke by phone to leaders of China, South Korea, Japan and Russia -- the other parties involved in long-stalled negotiations with North Korea -- and all agreed that the test was unacceptable.

While stressing his commitment to diplomacy, Bush said he had told South Korea and Japan that ''the United States will meet the full range of our deterrent and security commitments'' in the Asia-Pacific region.

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