Tel-interview: DPRK's nuclear test

Video

Play VideoDPRK test fires 2 additional missiles Play VideoDPRK fires missile after nuke test Play VideoDPRK conducts nuclear test

For more on the DPRK's nuclear test, Xinhua News Agency correspondent, Ji Xinlong, joins us on the line in Seoul.

Hello, Ji Xinlong. What has been South Korea's response to the nuclear test?

Well, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak hosted an emergency National Security Council meeting just after the DPRK's nuclear test. The president called the test a "disappointment" and asked for the government to take "swift" and "thorough" countermeasures. President Lee is schedule to phone Japanese Prime Minister Aso Taro to discuss the issue, followed by other calls to other leaders of the nation's allies.

At the same time, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers said that they would pursue U.N.-level punishment against the DPRK's second nuclear test. The agreement was reached at a meeting between the two counterparts in Hanoi, Vietnam, on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting. The ministers called for the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency meeting as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the nation's unification ministry has just announced that starting from Tuesday, the government will prevent its civilians from visiting the DPRK, for safety reasons, but excluding the Kaesong Joint Complex. Also, South Koreans will be prevented from traveling to the areas near Pyongyang, and the Mount Kumgang, starting from Tuesday.