The agency said the test had been carried out using 100% local technology.

Wow. The “organic” and “emissions” lobbies would be pleased.

It’s funny. I wake up at 0500h, lie in bed thinking about one of my cats, walk over to the iMac to see who it was who tried Skyping me in the wee hours, and load the BBC news page thinking “I wonder if those nutty North Koreans have set off a bomb, yet.”

One presumes that there is a small chance it’ll have been staged with conventionals; I wonder what my Geology mate at Oxford will report?

One also presumes that the Chinese will be pissed.

BBC News

N Korea claims nuclear test

North Korea says it has carried out its first ever test of a nuclear weapon, the state news agency has reported. It said the underground test, done in defiance of international warnings, was a success and had not resulted in any leak of radiation.

A South Korean official said an explosion had been detected in the north-east of North Korea, measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale.

North Korea said last week that it planned to test a nuclear weapon.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has called an emergency meeting of his government’s National Security Council.

A South Korean official said that there had been a grave change in the security situation on the peninsula.

[…]

The North Korean state news agency, KCNA, said: “The nuclear test is a historic event that brought happiness to our military and people.

The agency said the test had been carried out using 100% local technology.

“The nuclear test will contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and surrounding region,” KCNA said.