USA / Korea

Mean­while, Pres­i­dent Barack Oba­ma is employ­ing diplo­ma­cy and inter­na­tion­al pres­sure through the Unit­ed Nations to per­suade North Korea to elim­i­nate its nuclear weapons program. 

Oba­ma “has made clear the path in which the Unit­ed States is going to take to try to resolve these issues,” Pen­ta­gon spokesman Bryan Whit­man told reporters. 

“The record is clear: North Korea has pre­vi­ous­ly com­mit­ted to aban­don­ing its nuclear pro­gram,” Oba­ma told reporters at a May 25 White House news con­fer­ence, fol­low­ing reports that North Korea had con­duct­ed an under­ground nuclear-device test ear­li­er that day. North Korea, Oba­ma told reporters, “has cho­sen” to ignore its com­mit­ment to jet­ti­son its nuclear weapons program. 

As a result of North Korea reneg­ing on its pledge, Oba­ma con­tin­ued, it will face stronger inter­na­tion­al efforts to per­suade it to com­ply with U.N. resolutions. 

It is believed that North Korea car­ried out its first under­ground nuclear test in Octo­ber 2006. 

Sec­re­tary of State Hillary Rod­ham Clin­ton yes­ter­day con­demned North Korea’s May 25 under­ground test of a nuclear device, as well as its recent mis­sile tests. The Unit­ed States, she said, is work­ing with the Unit­ed Nations to con­vince North Korea to adhere to its pledge not to devel­op nuclear weapons or oth­er weapons of mass destruc­tion, to include bal­lis­tic missiles. 

Whit­man said more-defin­i­tive knowl­edge whether North Korea had, indeed, con­duct­ed a nuclear-device test on May 25 could become avail­able dur­ing the next sev­er­al days.