UNITED NATIONS – North Korea is reportedly willing to give up its nuclear program if the United States takes what one official calls "corresponding measures," a South Korean news agency reported Tuesday.
Reportedly, a North Korean official also threatened that the communist nation could fire a nuclear-tipped missile unless the U.S. acts to resolve its standoff with Pyongyang.
"We hope the situation will be resolved before an unfortunate incident of us firing a nuclear missile comes," the unnamed official said, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
South Korea's news agency quotes the official as saying that the North's nuclear test was aimed at getting the U.S. to the negotiating table. He says the North wants to ensure its security as well as guarantee its "system."
"We still have a willingness to give up nuclear weapons and return to six-party talks as well. It's possible whenever the U.S. takes corresponding measures."
Comments from the official were reported from Beijing where China may reportedly accept tough Chapter 7 U.N. sanctions on North Korea following its announced nuclear test, a South Korean envoy said Tuesday.
"China seems to have different position than it had before on a Chapter 7 resolution," Chun Young-woo told The Associated Press after returning from Beijing, referring to the section of the U.N. Charter that deals with threats to international peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression.
"I think (China) will employ all available means to prevent North Korea from further aggravating the situation and to bring them back into diplomatic efforts," Chun said after returning from a two-day trip where he met Chinese officials.
The announcement comes after U.S. responded Monday to North Korea's claim that it had successful detonated a nuclear weapon by circulating a tough draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council condemning the nuclear test and impose wide-ranging sanctions on the country for disregarding the world body's admonishments to not move forward with the test.
A copy of the Security Council document obtained by The Associated Press says that the United States wants the resolution to fall under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which deals explicitly with threats to international peace and security, as well as acts of aggression. Chapter 7 grants the council the authority to impose a range of measures that include breaking diplomatic ties and imposing economic and military sanctions to taking military action.
The resolution would enact tough restrictions, including a trade ban on military and luxury items, the power to inspect all cargo entering or leaving the country, and freezing assets connected with its weapons programs.
The draft also adds new proposals from Japan that would ban all countries from allowing any North Korean ships in their ports or any North Korean aircraft from taking off or landing in their territory and impose travel restrictions on high-ranking North Korean officials.
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Early U.S. requests came as U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told the Security Council that Washington would view any North Korean aggression against South Korea or Japan as an attack on the United States, U.N. diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed. The United States has defense agreements with Tokyo and Seoul, and thousands of U.S. troops are stationed in both countries.
Bolton echoed the stern warning delivered earlier in the day by President Bush, who called North Korea's nuclear test "unacceptable" and "provocative," and warned the regime of Kim Jong Il that the U.S. would honor its commitments to protect its Asian allies
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"The United States will meet the full range of our deterrent and security commitments," Bush said during a brief White House appearance.
The president said North Korea was "one of the world's leading proliferaters" of weapons technology, including transfers to Iran and Syria.
President Bush called the transfer of nuclear weapons or material would constitute "a grave threat to the United States, and we hold North Korea fully accountable for the consequences of such actions."
The president said North Korea was "one of the world's leading proliferators" of weapons technology, including transfers to Iran and Syria.
President Bush called the transfer of nuclear weapons or material would constitute "a grave threat to the United States, and we hold North Korea fully accountable for the consequences of such actions."
Bush also charged that North Korea had defied the international community, "and the international community will respond," a reference to Monday morning's meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
"No one defended [the test], no one even came close to defending it," Bolton told reporters during a brief break in the Security Council talks. "I was very impressed by the unanimity of the council ... on the need for a strong and swift answer to what everyone agreed amounted to a threat to international peace and security."
Security council members earlier condemned North Korea, demanding the communist nation return to six-party talks on its weapons program, U.N. ambassadors said.
The U.S. proposals were among several ideas for a Security Council resolution that the United States shared with council diplomats after North Korea claimed to have set off an underground nuclear explosion. Military action, however, is far from anyone's minds.
"We believe that highly provocative act requires a very strong resolution explicitly under Chapter 7 that provides for sanctions against the North Korean regime," the document said.
Among the proposals were to:
— Prohibit trade in materials that could be used to make or deliver weapons of mass destruction.
— Require states to make sure that North Korea not use their territory or entities for proliferation or illicit activities. Financial transactions that North Korea could use to support those programs would also be banned.
— Require states to freeze all assets related to North Korea's weapons and missile programs, as well as any other illicit activities it conducts.
— Authorize inspection of all cargo to and from North Korea to limit proliferation.
— Ban trade with North Korea in luxury goods and military items
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U.S. officials say the White House will seek "much stronger punitive measures," although they do not believe the country's oil supplies will be targeted.
Bush, meanwhile, said he had called the leaders of South Korea, China, Russia and Japan and all had reaffirmed a commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. China and Russia are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, along with Britain, France and the United States.
"Threats will not lead to a brighter future for the North Korean people," Bush said.
Speculation surfaced late in the day that North Korea may have decided to go forward with a test as a way of showing its displeasure for the nomination of South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to be the new secretary-general, replacing Kofi Annan, whose term is expiring.
The Security Council began its Monday morning session by formally naming Ban as its candidate, and passing the nomination on to the General Assembly, where he likely will be confirmed.
If approved, Ban said his first task would be to "contribute as much as I can to the resolution of all kinds of problems including the North Korean nuclear issue that may threaten international peace and security."
"This should be a moment of joy. But instead, I stand here with a very heavy heart," Ban said. "Despite the concerted warning from the international community, North Korea has gone ahead with a nuclear test."
North Korea's U.N. ambassador offered a different and defiant perspective, saying the Security Council should congratulate his country for its nuclear test instead of passing "useless" resolutions or statements.
Pak Gil Yon told reporters he was proud of the North Koreans who conducted the test, and said the Security Council ought to be, too. Asked if the North planned any more tests, Pak said: "That will be enough. You don't think so?"
Earlier Monday, Bush spoke with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A statement from the Japanese Foreign Ministry said that the two leaders had agreed to push for "decisive action" against North Korea at the U.N. Security Council over the communist regime's claim it had carried out a successful nuclear weapons test.
The two leaders, who spoke by phone, called the reported test a grave threat to international security, the statement said.
Bush fell short, however, of officially confirming that a nuclear explosion had actually taken place.
Late Sunday night, however, a senior Bush administration official told FOX News that North Korea had completed a successful test of a nuclear weapon.
The official said that initial readings from South Korea reported only a 3.58-magnitude seismic reaction, which is smaller than what would be expected from the 4-kiloton explosion the communist nation sought. To put the bomb's capabilities in context, a 20-kiloton explosion could conceivably kill 200,000 people.
"North Korea may not have got what they wanted," the official said.
The U.S. Geological Survey, however, said it detected a 4.2-magnitude tremor at 10:35 p.m. EDT, which could mean the device was potentially deadlier than initially believed. Australia also said there was seismic confirmation that North Korea conducted a nuclear test.
"It was a success from their perspective in that they achieved a nuclear yield, though that is not very difficult," the official said. "It's within their technical capabilities."
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Michigan, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, called the reported test, "another attempt by its erratic leader Kim Jong-Il to intimidate the West into negotiating directly with his regime."
"His actions will instead further isolate the country from the international community, and we need to continue to work to ensure the stability of the region," Hoekstra said Monday.
"While not unexpected, if North Korea indeed carried out a nuclear test, it has needlessly and recklessly demonstrated that the world remains a dangerous place. The world community must pursue all diplomatic and economic options as it considers its response to the provocation."
U.S. officials told FOX News' Bret Baier that they were warned by allies in advance of the test. China reportedly received a 20-minute heads up and immediately notified officials in the U.S., Japan and South Korea.
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The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the underground test was performed successfully "with indigenous wisdom and technology 100 percent," and that no radiation leaked from that test site.
"It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the (Korean People's Army) and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability," KCNA said. "It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the area around it."
China, the North's closest ally, said Beijing "resolutely opposes" the nuclear test and hopes Pyongyang will return to disarmament talks.
Chun said Beijing reiterated their commitment to a peaceful diplomatic solution to the issue during his two-day trip where he met with Chinese leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Cabinet that Moscow "certainly condemns the test conducted by North Korea." The Foreign Ministry called Pyongyang's ambassador to Russia in for consultations, demanding that North Korea immediately take steps to return to the six-nation talks.
Iranian state radio blamed North Korea's reported test on U.S. pressure, saying the test "was a reaction to America's threats and humiliation."
Iran has said it will not abandon uranium enrichment despite the threat of international sanctions over its disputed nuclear program, which Tehran insists is purely for peaceful purposes to be used for nuclear energy.
China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States have held intermittent talks with North Korea since 2003 in hope of getting Pyongyang to abandon nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun condemned the reported test, saying it would make it difficult for Seoul to maintain its engagement policy with its communist neighbor. Roh said Seoul would try to resolve the situation through dialogue, but his government reportedly delayed the planned delivery of 4,000 tons of cement to the North on Tuesday as emergency relief.
South Korea had said the one-time aid shipment was separate from its regular humanitarian aid to the North, which it halted after Pyongyang's missile launches in July.
Impoverished and isolated North Korea has relied on foreign aid to feed its 23 million people since its state-run farming system collapsed in the 1990s following decades of mismanagement and the loss of Soviet subsidies.
South Korea also raised its military's alert level, and its intelligence agency warned that Pyongyang could conduct more tests, the Yonhap news agency reported. South Korea, which does not have nuclear weapons, has shared the world's most heavily armed border with North Korea since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in a truce, without a peace treaty.
The European Union and NATO condemned the reported test, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the test reflects the "upside-down" priorities of North Korea's leadership.
"It's very bad news for the people of North Korea," Solana said. "At the end of the day, the government of North Korea is spending lots of money for something which is not going to be for the benefit of the people, while the people in North Korea continue to be starving."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair criticized the North for defying the international community.
"The international community has repeatedly urged them to refrain from both missile testing and nuclear testing," he said. "This further act of defiance shows North Korea's disregard for the concerns of its neighbors and the wider international community."
Germany, France and Australia also condemned the move and called for immediate U.N. Security Council action.
India and Pakistan, South Asian rivals whose nuclear arms race has concerned the world, too, said North Korea's reported test could destabilize northeast Asia.
Pakistan said the reported nuclear test could spark a proliferation "chain reaction."
"This will be a destabilizing development for the region," Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.
The North is believed to have enough radioactive material for about a half-dozen crude bombs, using plutonium from its main nuclear reactor located at Yongbyon, north of the capital Pyongyang.
The North also has active missile programs, but it isn't believed to have a nuclear bomb design small and light enough to be mounted on a long-range rocket that could strike targets as far as the U.S.
If confirmed, the North would be the ninth country in the world known to have nuclear weapons. The other countries are the United States, Russia, France, China, Britain, India, Pakistan and Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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