North Korea's First Nuclear Test

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test at Punggye-ri. The UN Security Council responded with sanctions.

The North Korean nuclear issue arose in 1993, when the North announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The 1994 US–North Korea Agreed Framework papered it over, but suspicions of a highly enriched uranium programme revived it in 2002. From 2003 the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia held six-party talks, and in the joint statement of 19 September 2005 the North promised to abandon all nuclear weapons and programmes.

Yet after test-firing missiles in July 2006, North Korea carried out its first nuclear test on 9 October. The UN Security Council imposed sanctions, including an arms embargo, in Resolution 1718.

The six-party talks produced the 13 February agreement of 2007 but stalled after 2008, and the North pressed on with its nuclear programme, conducting a second test in 2009.