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North Korea nuclear test is 'turn for the worse': Wallström

The Local Sweden
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North Korea nuclear test is 'turn for the worse': Wallström
Foreign Minister Margot Wallström. Photo: Lars Pehrson/SvD/TT

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström said that international peace and stability were “threatened” after the latest nuclear weapons test by North Korea on Sunday.

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The north east Asian country confirmed on Sunday morning its latest test of nuclear weapons technology, this time in the form of a hydrogen bomb.

Wallström reacted by writing on Twitter that she considered the test to be a considerable worsening of prospects for international peace and stability.

“Reports of new nuclear test by North Korea a turn for the worse. Further endangers international peace, stability. UNSC [UN Security Council, ed.] role important,” Wallström wrote.

“If not now – when should a Foreign Minister speak up for peace, dialogue and nuclear disarmament?” the minister added in a second tweet.

Wallström was not the only political figure in Sweden to voice concern over the latest piece of brinkmanship by the Kim Jong-un regime.

Former prime minister Carl Bildt, who also served as foreign minister from 2006-2014, wrote on his blog that the new tests had made the diplomatic crisis with the country more serious than ever before.

Bildt called the test a “genuine leap in development” that represented a “significant advance” in Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities.

The pattern of tests carried out by North Korea reflect its desire to push the boundaries of what wil be accepted by the international community, Bildt added.

“Politically, [the test] is a first-class provocation directed primarily against the United States but almost as much at China. Whether it is Donald Trump or Xi Jinping who is most under pressure at this time is hard to know. Both are power-conscious men being made to look powerless by the little dictator in Pyongyang,” he wrote.

South Korean president Moon Jae-in called for the “strongest possible” response to the nuclear test, according to news agencies.

Possible actions include additional sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council and increased deployment of US military in South Korea, writes Swedish news agency TT.

The North Korean announcement drew swift and strong condemnation from regional powers, including Pyongyang ally China, reports AFP.

READ ALSO: What exactly is Sweden doing in North Korea?

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