UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said through his spokesman that if the DPRK carries out the proposed test, it "would bring universal condemnation, and will not help DPRK achieve the goals expressed in its statement, particularly with regard to strengthening its security."

The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet early Wednesday for discussions on a response to the issue.

In a statement issued earlier on Tuesday by the Foreign Ministry, the DPRK said "the field of scientific research of the DPRK will in the future conduct a nuclear test under the condition where safety is firmly guaranteed," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said tha the had asked the council to devise a strategy for "preventive diplomacy" and not just issue a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is in Egypt on a visit, called the DPRK statement "very provocative."

A nuclear test by the DPRK will hugely transform the existing situation in the Korean Peninsula, she told a press conference in Cairo, noting that it was not an issue for America alone, but "quite a serious issue" for the entire neighborhood.

As for a possible U.S. military operation against the DPRK, if and when it conducts a nuclear test, Rice said Washington would need to assess the options.

In Moscow, the Russian government expressed its "deep concerns" over the DPRK statement and urged Pyongyang to exercise restraint.

"We believe this move would only lead to a further escalation of the military and political standoff on the Korean Peninsula and around it, and a further erosion of the international nuclear non-proliferation system," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Russia calls on Pyongyang to show restraint and expresses the hope that the DPRK will make the right choice," the statement said.

"We take a respectful and careful attitude toward the anxiety (of the DPRK) over its security, but we believe that a solution to this problem should be sought within the framework of the six-party negotiations," it said.

The six-party talks regarding the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula involve China, the DPRK, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The talks have been stalled since last November.

The South Korean government expresses its serious concern and regret over the test, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman ChooKyu-ho in a statement.

It urged the DPRK to "immediately scrap the plan," warning that the DPRK "will have to take all responsibility for all the consequences of a nuclear test."

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso called the idea of nuclear test unforgivable, saying it would be a "threat to peace."

"It would gravely affect Northeast Asia, including Japan," he said.

Finland, the current holder of the European Union's rotating presidency, called the DPRK announcement an irresponsible step.

In a statement issued by the Finish government, Finland expressed its "deep concern," saying that the EU strongly urges the DPRK to immediately return to the six-party talks.

In Brussels, Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jaap de Hoop Scheffer expressed concern over the issue.

Such a test would pose a threat to the peace and security in Asia and the whole world, he said in a statement, strongly urging the DPRK to return to the six party talks.

France also urged the DPRK to immediately give up the nuclear test plan.

"We are very concerned over the announcement made by the DPRK," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei told reporters in Paris.

"We urge it to immediately abandon this project, since such an act would create serious instability for regional and international security," Mattei said.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett called the test a "highly provocative act with serious repercussions for DPRK."

She called on the DPRK to continue observing a moratorium on nuclear tests, saying, "this is of vital importance to the peace of the region and to the cause of preventing proliferation of nuclear weapons world-wide."

The Singaporean Foreign Ministry also urged the DPRK to "reconsider its plan and not proceed with such a test under any circumstances."