朝官員稱朝鮮于今天上午成功進行首次核試驗，朝鮮同時聲明，核試驗沒有帶來任何核泄漏等危險。對于朝鮮核試驗聲明，國際反應強烈。日本稱不能立即確認該消息的真偽，但美國地質監測部門在朝鮮時間今天上午10點35分，監測到朝鮮發生了4.2級震動。包括中國、美國、韓國、日本在內的許多國家呼吁國際社會，堅決抵制朝鮮的核試驗行為。有專家擔心，如果朝鮮真的進行了核試驗，勢必會對當前東亞局勢造成重大沖擊，日本可能就會以此為借口來發展核武器，從而在亞洲引發一波有如冷戰時期的核武競賽。

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (C) inspects Korean People's Army unit 851 at an unidentified location in North Korea in this August 30, 2006 file photo. REUTERS/Korea News Service/Files North Korea said Monday it had performed its first nuclear weapons test, an underground explosion that defied international warnings but was hailed by the nation as a "great leap forward" for its people.  The reported test drew harsh rebuke from North Korea's neighbors. The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the North Korean issue on Monday, and the United States and Japan are likely to press for a resolution imposing additional sanctions on Pyongyang. The US Geological Survey said it had recorded a magnitude-4.2 seismic event in northeastern North Korea. Australia and South Korea also said there was seismic confirmation that pointed to a nuclear test. However, Japan said it could not immediately confirm the test. North Korea's nuclear test was equivalent to 550 tons of TNT, a state-run South Korean geological institute said. That is relatively small compared to the bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima, which was equivalent to 12,500 tons of TNT. Although North Korea has long claimed it had the capability to produce a bomb, the reported test Monday, if confirmed, would be the first proof of its membership in a small club of nuclear-armed nations. That would dramatically alter the strategic balance of power in the region and seriously undermine global anti-proliferation efforts. The test Monday morning came a day after the ninth anniversary of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's appointment as head of the Korean Workers' Party. Tuesday will be the 61st anniversary of the party's founding. The North warned last week it would conduct a nuclear test, sparking frantic diplomatic efforts to head it off. Condemnation of North Korea from world powers came swiftly after the test was announced. China, the North's closest ally, said Beijing "resolutely opposes" the test and hopes Pyongyang will return to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks. Japan's top government spokesman said if confirmed, the North Korean test would post a serious threat to the stability in the region and a provocation. South Korea's presidential spokesman says Seoul will "sternly respond" to North Korea nuclear test and the Defense Ministry raised the military alert level. (Agencies)

Vocabulary:

magnitude-4.2 seismic: 4.2級地震 anti-proliferation: 反對核擴散 head it off: 反對 （英語點津陳蓓編輯）