The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted its second underground nuclear test on Monday morning.

The DPRK's official KCNA news agency announced success of the test. "According to the demand of our scientists and technicians, our republic has successfully conducted another underground nuclear test on May 25 ... as part of measures to strengthen its nuclear power in self-defense," it said.

"The current nuclear test was safely conducted on a new higher level in terms of its explosive power and technology of its control and the results of the test helped satisfactorily settle the scientific and technological problems arising in further increasing the power of nuclear weapons and steadily developing nuclear technology," the statement said, but did not give any details about the test or its location.

A South Korean official, quoted by the Yonhap news agency, said South Korea had detected artificial tremors of 4.5 seismic scale at around 0054 GMT on Monday near Poong kye-ri in North Hamkyong Province, which were indications of a nuclear test. The site is not far from the first nuclear test conducted by the DPRK in October 2006.

Shortly after the test, the DPRK also appears to have test-fired a short-range missile. "A single ground-to-air missile with a range of 130 kilometers was fired from Musudan-ri, Hwadae County," South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a diplomatic source as saying.

This is the second nuclear test by the DPRK since the first one on Oct. 9, 2006. "The field of scientific research in the DPRK successfully conducted an underground nuclear test under secure conditions on Oct. 9, 2006 at a stirring time when all the people of the country are making a great leap forward in the building of a great prosperous powerful socialist nation," said the KCNA then.

South Korean officials said the test appeared to have been carried out at 0136 GMT on Oct. 9, 2006, at Hwadaeri, near the DPRK's northeast coast, and a 3.58-magnitude seismic tremor was detected.

Source: Xinhua