- Title: VARIOUS: Mixed reactions in Asia on North Korea's nuclear test
- Date: 12th February 2013
- Summary: BEIJING , CHINA (FEBRUARY 12, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BEIJING TRAFFIC PEOPLE GETTING OUT OF CAR AND WALKING SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) 25-YEAR-OLD RESIDENT WU HE MING, SAYING: "For North Korea's nuclear (test), it should be the U.S. that is more concerned by the test or the programme. For them to have this test during China's Lunar New Year, it could just be a coincidence." PEOPLE WAITING FOR BUS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 17-YEAR-OLD RESIDENT HU HAI YANG, SAYING: "I think that this thing has pros and cons. I hope it develops towards the good. If violent force is necessary, (North Korea) can protect itself for the sake of its own safety." BEIJING TRAFFIC HONG KONG , CHINA (FEBRUARY 12, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HONG KONG STREET LOGISTICS MANAGER, MICHAEL CANNELL, WALKING PAST (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANAGER, MICHAEL CANNELL, SAYING: "Well I think it just makes it more difficult to actually come to any real resolution at the bargaining table. You know, probably just another trick to get more aid unfortunately. Unfortunately for the people of North Korea." TAIPEI, TAIWAN (FEBRUARY 12, 2013) (REUTERS) TAIPEI STREETS LANDMARK TAIPEI 101 BUILDING TAIPEI TRAFFIC BUSES (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 45-YEAR-OLD SALES HUANG GUAN-CHENG SAYING: "Nuclear weapons are not safe, and the lethal power is not something human can control, so I think it is important to stop nuclear activities, and even the nuclear power plants should be banned." (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 22-YEAR-OLD STUDENT LIU HSIEN-HAN SAYING: "Every nation has its rights to develop their own weapons. An important precondition is that they need to protect their own country's safety, of course it is a different case if they use the weapons to invade other countries, but in terms of national defence, of course they have the freedom to do so." TAIPEI TRAFFIC MANILA, PHILIPPINES (FEBRUARY 12, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT BUILDING FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT EMBLEM FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON RAUL HERNANDEZ DELIVERING STATEMENT BEHIND PODIUM JOURNALISTS SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (English) PHILIPPINE FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON RAUL HERNANDEZ SAYING: "The Philippines condemns the nuclear test carried out of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea today. The nuclear test by the DPRK (North Korea) violates the UN Security Council resolution 1695, 1718 and 1874 which demanded that the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear tests." JOURNALISTS SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (English) PHILIPPINE FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON RAUL HERNANDEZ SAYING: "The Philippines join with international partners in urging the DPRK to desist from continuing this act of provocation and to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs." CAMERAMEN REPORTERS SEATED
- Embargoed: 27th February 2013 21:58
- Keywords:
- Location: Philippines
- Country: Philippines
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA52H08O0TCJA4YBSTCOSGFL919
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Residents in Asia on Tuesday (February 12) expressed mixed opinions after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in defiance of U.N. resolutions.
The move has angered the United States and Japan and prompted its only major ally, China, to call for calm.
The North said the test had "greater explosive force" than the 2006 and 2009 tests that were widely seen as small-scale.
CCTV reported on the news soon after it recorded seismic activity from North Korea.
"We're first going to look at the news worth our attention right now. According to monitoring by China's seismic activity department, at Beijing time 10:57 AM (0257 GMT) in North Korea at a north longtitude of 41.3 degrees and an eastern latitude of 129.0 degrees, there was an earthquake of 4.9 on the Richter scale. The impact depth of the earthquake was zero," news reader Cui Zhigang said.
U.S. President Barack Obama termed the test a "highly provocative act" that hurt regional stability.
China, which has shown signs of increasing exasperation with its neighbour, repeated calls for the "denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula and urged its client state and others to react calmly, while pressing Pyongyang not to ramp up tension further, something the North had threatened in the run-up to the test.
Twenty-five-year-old Beijing resident Wu He Ming dismissed suggestions that Pyongyang's nuclear test falling on Chinese New Year celebrations could be significant.
"For North Korea's nuclear (test), it should be the U.S. that is more concerned by the test or the programme. For them to have this test during China's Lunar New Year, it could just be a coincidence," he said.
Another resident Hu Hai Yang said the nuclear test would allow North Korea to protect itself.
"I think that this thing has pros and cons. I hope it develops towards the good. If violent force is necessary, (North Korea) can protect itself for the sake of its own safety," he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has presided over two long-range rocket launches and a nuclear test during his first a year in power.
Hong Kong resident Michael Cannell said the nuclear test was a political ruse to get international bargaining power.
"Well I think it just makes it more difficult to actually come to any real resolution at the bargaining table. You know, probably just another trick to get more aid unfortunately. Unfortunately for the people of North Korea," he said.
Options for the international community appear to be in short supply, as North Korea is already one of the most heavily sanctioned states on earth.
Some residents in Taiwan said nuclear tests could never be for good.
"Nuclear weapons are not safe, and the lethal power is not something human can control, so I think it is important to stop nuclear activities, and even the nuclear power plants should be banned," 45-year-old Huang Guan-cheng said.
But others said it was North Korea's right to develop nuclear weapons.
"Every nation has its rights to develop their own weapons. An important precondition is that they need to protect their own country's safety, of course it is a different case if they use the weapons to invade other countries, but in terms of national defence, of course they have the freedom to do so," said 22-year-old student Liu Hsien-han.
Philippines on Tuesday condemned North Korea's nuclear test, which violated UN resolutions.
"The Philippines condemns the nuclear test carried out of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea today. The nuclear test by the DPRK (North Korea) violates the UN Security Council resolution 1695, 1718 and 1874 which demanded that the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear tests," Foreign Affairs department spokesman Raul Hernandez said.
"The Philippines join with international partners in urging the DPRK to desist from continuing this act of provocation and to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs," he added.
Despite its three nuclear tests and long-range rocket tests, North Korea is not believed to be close to manufacturing a nuclear missile capable of hitting the United States. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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