The "probable" nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK) could have negative consequences for speeding up the arms race in that
region, said Javier Solana, foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU), on
Wednesday.
The DPRK had "quite possibly or probably" carried out a
nuclear test, Solana told a plenary session of the European Parliament in
Brussels. "It is most likely that it was a nuclear test."
The test represented a threat to the whole region, he said.
He said he had spoken to South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United
States and that countries in the region had reacted "serenely." Both Japan and
China had offered constructive comments, he said.
Solana said the DPRK government was wasting millions of dollars trying to
develop nuclear weapons while the population suffered.
The international community was considering a possible UN resolution
condemning the DPRK, he said.
The EU has condemned the test and the bloc should now reaffirm its solidarity
with the people of the DPRK, he said.
