N Korea holds mass rally to celebrate nuclear test

SEOUL, Oct 20 (Reuters) - More than 100,000 people rallied in the main square of Pyongyang today to hail North Korea's nuclear test, official media reported, as world powers scrambled to put an end to the North's atomic ambitions.

''An army-people rally was held at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang on Friday to hail the success of the historic nuclear test. The square was crowded with over hundred thousands of men and officers of the People's Army and citizens of all social standings,'' the North's KCNA news agency reported.

China, the closest thing North Korea has to an ally, sent a team of diplomats to Pyongyang earlier this week, as speculation rose that the North might detonate a second nuclear device.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Beijing today as part of her swing through Asia to bring pressure on Pyongyang for its October nine nuclear test.

Prior to the mass rally, North Korea had only mentioned the test a few times in its official media, leading to some speculation that the nuclear explosion might not have been as successful as North Korea's leaders would have liked.

REUTERS BDP BST1810