NKorea nuclear test would be "provocative" -WHouse

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) A North Korean nuclear test would constitute a ''provocative act'' and Washington expects the UN Security Council to take immediate action, the White House said early today.

''A North Korean nuclear test would constitute a provocative act, in defiance of the will of the international community and of our call to refrain from actions that would aggravate tensions in northeast Asia,'' White House spokesman Tony Snow said on a conference call with reporters.

North Korea said today it safely and successfully carried out an underground nuclear test, flying in the face of a warning from the Security Council.

The US Geological Survey said it had detected a 4.2 magnitude quake in North Korea at 1035 hrs local time (0705 hrs IST) today, confirming a similar report from South Korea.

Snow said the White House had not yet verified the quake was from a nuclear test.

President George W Bush was notified at 2158 hrs. local time yesterday (0728 hrs IST today), he said.

The United States has not taken any military action in response and is not at this point moving military assets to the region, Snow said. But US Ambassador John Bolton is going to ask the Security Council to meet in an emergency session, he said.

''It's important for a lot of reasons to maintain a non-nuclear Korean peninsula and we hope that that's going to be the situation when all is said and done,'' Snow said.

REUTERS DKA BD1159