The United Nations Security Council has condemned North Korea's latest nuclear test, terming it as a 'clear violation' of its 2006 resolution passed immediately after Pyongyang's first atomic test.
The non-binding statement came after the Council met in an emergency session on a holiday, hours after the second nuclear test by the impoverished North Korea sent shock waves around the world drawing international condemnation.
The members of the Security Council voiced their strong opposition to and condemnation of the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on May 25, 2009, which constitutes a clear violation of resolution 1718, the non-binding statement said.
The Council will start working immediately on a resolution on this matter, said Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin who holds the rotating presidency of the Council for this month.
But diplomats said that the Council, as also the entire international community, has little influence on the North Korea and doubted whether any more tough sanctions would work. They have not worked so far and there is no reason to believe that such an action would work now.
Trying to fathom the reasons, analysts said there could be two main reasons for the North Korean action. First that leader Kim-Jong-II, who reportedly suffered stroke last year, wants to keep a firm grip over the army until he is able to select his successor, possibly one of his sons.
Second, he wants to get come concession from the international community which has often happened after such dramatic actions by Pyongyang in the past.
To show further defiance of the international opinion, North Korea test fired three short range missiles hours after its second nuclear test whose strength is being evaluated. But analysts say it was definitely more powerful than the first.
So far as the new Council resolution is concerned, diplomats said that China might not favour a strong action especially as further collapse of economy in North Korea could send thousands into China, creating a major headache for Beijing.
As if signalling a more balanced approach, China joined the international community in condemning North Korea for conducting the test, it also asked the world governments to consider the situation calmly and take appropriate action.
Beijing also demanded that North Korea keeps its promise to denuclearise and join six-party talks which are aimed at rewarding it for ending its nuclear programme.
Though the tests itself came as surprise, North Korea had been threatening to conduct second test ever since it fired a rocket, which was believed by the international community as a ballistic missile test resulting in tighter sanctions.
