On 12 February 2013, the CTBTO‟s seismic network detected an unusual seismic event in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which measured 4.9 in magnitude.
Only hours after the DPRK announced that it had conducted a nuclear test, the CTBTO convened an informal technical meeting for States Signatories to share the data findings that were efficiently detected by its International Monitoring System (IMS) stations.
The technical meeting addressed the capacity of the CTBTO‟s data processing and analysis in detecting suspicious events. Designed to determine the true nature of any explosive event worldwide, particularly nuclear explosions, the effectiveness of the IMS stations was praised by States Signatories.
A second meeting was held to address the implications of that test and collect feedback from States Signatories on the matter.
States Signatories voiced their concern that DPRK‟s test violates the United Nations Security Council resolutions and poses a challenge to security in the Korean peninsula. They requested continuous information from the PTS on technical specifics regarding this event in the upcoming days.
UAE Government issued a statement joining international community in condemning DPRK third nuclear test.
The CTBTO organization continues to collect and assess data from the explosion. Further data will assist Member States to understand the implication and type of nuclear test that took place.
