Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday that Japan
would find it unacceptable if North Korea were to carry out a nuclear test.
Responding to questions in parliament, Abe said that the statement issued
Tuesday by North Korea's foreign ministry that Pyongyang plans to conduct a
nuclear test was "extremely regrettable."
"Naturally, we simply could not accept if North Korea were to conduct a
nuclear test," Abe said.
North Korea's latest nuclear talk is expected to be top item on the agenda
for Abe's summit talks with his counterparts in China and South Korea this
weekend, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Relations Hiroshi Suzuki said.
"Given the regional situation right now ... reference to North Korea is a
natural course of discussion," Suzuki told reporters later Tuesday.
Separately, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura told reporters
that a test would be a "grave threat to the peace and security of northeast Asia
and the international community."
"We hope that North Korea will accept the intention of the international
community in a sincere manner and practice maximum self-restraint," Shimomura
said.
Shimomura added that Japan was still gathering intelligence, but refused to
comment on Japan's current understanding about the threat of a test.
North Korea triggered global concern on 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 US attack.
But two Japanese spy satellites focusing on a suspected underground test site
had not observed any activities that could appear connected to test preparations
as of Tuesday, the Asahi newspaper reported, citing unidentified government
sources.
News reports in early August cited US officials saying suspicious activity
had been observed at a possible underground nuclear test site dug into the side
of a mountain near the northern town of Chiktong.
Japan has focused its attention on the region, stationing the two satellites
to photograph the area and monitor North Korean military transmissions, the
Asahi said.
However, analysis of photographic data reviewed as of Tuesday had not
confirmed any signs of possible test-related activity, such as the closing of
roads or the loading of measuring devices, it said.
There also have not been any radio transmissions detected
that would be akin to those associated with a nuclear test, the paper said.