North Korea Asserts Nuclear Power

On 25th may 2009 North Korea exploded what the Russian military estimated to be a 10-20 kiloton nuclear device, significantly larger than its first test in October 2006 and comparable to the US bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The test was "aimed at strengthening its self defense nuclear deterrent in every way," Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency announced.

A few hours later, the North Koreans launched what appeared to be a short range surface-to-air

South Korean analysts were shocked more by the timing of the test than by the explosion itself, surprised by the speed which Pyongyang had organized it.

 The US early called North Korea's nuclear and missile tests of "grave concern to all nations," according to the Washington Post."North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security," [President Obama] said in a statement.

Citing South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, the Post reported that North Korea may have also fired a short-range missile into the sea, after the nuclear test