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New Zealand government condemns DPRK hydrogen bomb test

Xinhua, January 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The New Zealand government on Thursday strongly condemned the underground nuclear test carried out by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"New Zealand views North Korea's actions as highly provocative and irresponsible," Duty Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga said in a statement.

The DPRK claimed the fourth nuclear test it had conducted since 2006 was a hydrogen device.

"The test would run contrary to the recent efforts at dialogue on the Korean Peninsula and flies in the face of the international community's calls for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapon programs and return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," said Lotu-Iiga.

The action also flouted United Nations Security Council resolutions that demanded the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear tests.

"The New Zealand government strongly urges North Korea to cease its provocative behavior and commit to not developing, testing or possessing nuclear weapons," said Lotu-Iiga.

An emergency UN Security Council meeting was expected to take place imminently and New Zealand would work with other Security Council members to make sure there was a strong response. Enditem