N. Korea says it will test nuke as 'self-defense measure'

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea triggered global alarm Tuesday by saying it will conduct a nuclear test, a key step in the manufacture of atomic bombs that it views as a deterrent against any U.S. attack. But the North also said it was committed to nuclear disarmament, suggesting a willingness to negotiate.

The contradictory statement fits a North Korean pattern of ratcheting up tension on the Korean Peninsula, a Cold War-era flashpoint, in an attempt to win concessions such as economic aid. The strategy has had mixed results in recent years as the totalitarian regime sinks deeper into isolation and poverty, with China serving as its lifeline for food and fuel.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called North Korea's announcement "a very provocative act." It came as the standoff deepened over Iran's nuclear program, with senior U.N. diplomats saying six world powers would begin negotiations Friday in London on possibly imposing sanctions against Tehran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment.

It was the first time the North had publicly announced its intent to conduct a nuclear test. Previously, it had warned that it might conduct a test, depending on U.S. actions.

"The U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a self-defense measure in response," said a statement by the North's Foreign Ministry and carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

Yet it said it wanted to "settle hostile relations" between the North and the United States, and that it "will do its utmost to realize the denuclearization of the peninsula."

Many North Korea watchers believe the country's dictator, Kim Jong Il, knows that all-out confrontation with the United States would lead to his destruction. Even if Kim seeks negotiations, though, the risk of a miscalculation that spirals out of control cannot be ruled out.

The North Korean statement did not say when a nuclear test might occur, but the prospect drew rebukes from Japan, South Korea and the United States. The allies, along with China and Russia, had participated in the stalled six-party talks aimed at getting the North to give up its nuclear ambitions.

The announcement was not a big surprise to many observers of North Korea because U.S. intelligence reports previously had indicated that Pyongyang might be preparing a nuclear test. Many experts believe the North has enough radioactive material to build at least a half-dozen or more nuclear weapons.

In Cairo, Egypt, Rice said the United States would have to assess its options if the North carries out the test, without detailing what those options were. She stressed, however, that a North Korean test was an issue "for the neighborhood" and not just for the United States.

"It would be a very provocative act," Rice said. Still, she said, "they have not yet done it."

The White House, which has denied it has any intention of attacking the communist nation, also denounced the threat.

"A provocative action of this nature would only further isolate the North Korean regime and deny the people of the North the benefits offered to them in the six-party talks that they so rightly deserve," said Frederick Jones, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

In Finland, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said such a test "is always bad news."

Japan's foreign minister, Taro Aso, called the North's nuclear test plans "totally unforgivable," and said Japan would react "sternly" if the North conducted the tests, according to Kyodo News agency.

The presidential office said South Korea had raised its "security level" and that security officials planned to hold an emergency meeting Wednesday. The United States keeps about 29,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War.

China, North Korea's ally and chief benefactor, had no immediate comment. North Korea counters U.S. influence in the region, but China is believed to be increasingly frustrated with North Korea's go-it-alone belligerence.

In a worst-case scenario, a North Korean nuclear test could prompt Japan to seek its own nuclear deterrent, intensifying historical tensions with China and South Korea, both of which suffered under Japanese colonial rule in the early 20th century.

A test could also strain the alliance between the United States and South Korea, which has sought to engage its neighbor.

The United States is likely to seek a military solution to the North Korean problem only as a last resort, partly because of the burden of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. ambassador John Bolton raised the issue before a regularly scheduled meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. He said he urged members "to come up not just with a knee-jerk reaction ... but to develop a coherent strategy to convince them that it's not in their interest to engage in nuclear testing."

But France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, said he wants a swift council statement, and China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, said the best place to deal with the threat is in the six-party talks. Wang urged stepped up efforts to get the North to return to the stalled talks.

After a brief discussion, members decided to meet today to address the issue.

North Korea has sometimes made a splash with statements or military actions on important anniversaries at home, or political events such as elections in South Korea and the United States.

The test declaration came ahead of congressional elections in the United States in November and shortly before the expected election of South Korea's foreign minister, Ban Ki-Moon, as secretary-general of the United Nations.

North Korea staged a series of missile tests to coincide with July 4, needling the United States on its Independence Day. But no talks or concessions were forthcoming.

Six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear activity have been stalled for almost a year. Pyongyang skipped the talks in protest over U.S. financial restrictions imposed for alleged illegal activity, including money laundering and counterfeiting.

"If they feel they are not getting interaction with us, they tend to do things to get our attention," said Charles Kartman, a U.S. nuclear negotiator with North Korea under the Clinton administration. "The tools that they have are all bad ones. They don't really have anything else going."

Top diplomats from the five permament members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany will attend Friday's meeting in London to discuss what to do about Iran's nuclear program, the U.N. diplomats said. The six nations have offered Tehran a package of economic and political rewards if it agrees to renounce uranium enrichment; sanctions are possible if is doesn't.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing an agreement not to pronounce the end of talks before European Union envoy Javier Solana and chief Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani speak on Wednesday.

The officials said, however, that the Security Council could meet as early as Monday to start work on a resolution imposing the first of a series of sanctions meant to make Iran turn course.