"Disregarding the common objections of the international community, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has again tested a nuclear device," the foreign ministry said, referring to North Korea by its official name.

"The Chinese government expresses its resolute opposition to this," said the statement posted on the ministry's website.

North Korea announced Monday that it had carried out a second nuclear bomb test. Pyongyang staged its first one in 2006.

"China strongly demands that North Korea keep its promise of denuclearisation and cease all actions that could further worsen the situation," the foreign ministry also said.

It urged North Korea to return to six-nation talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear programme, held on and off since 2003.

"Maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula conforms with the interests of all parties involved," the statement said.

"The Chinese government calls on all parties involved to respond in a calm and appropriate manner and persist in solving the problems through consultations and dialogue."

It added that "China will continue its efforts to this end unremittingly."

earlier related report
US calls for international action in response to NKorea
US President Barack Obama called North Korea's claimed nuclear and missile tests on Monday "a matter of grave concern" and urged international action against the isolated state.

"These actions, while not a surprise given its statements and actions to date, are a matter of grave concern to all nations," Obama said in a statement.

"North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security."

North Korea said it had carried out a nuclear test early Monday, despite international pressure to rein in its nuclear program after years of disarmament talks.

Obama said that "the danger posed by North Korea's threatening activities warrants action by the international community."

The communist state tested an atomic bomb for the first time in October 2006. It had threatened another test after the UN Security Council censured it following a long-range rocket launch in April.

The North Korean announcement came soon after the US Geological Survey reported a magnitude 4.7 seismic event in the proximity of the site of North Korea's first nuclear test.

It also coincided with the celebration in the United States of Memorial Day, which is dedicated to the memory of Americans who gave their lives in various conflicts, including the 1950-1953 Korean War.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the North also appears to have test-fired a short-range missile Monday from its launch site at Musudan-ri near Kilju. There was no immediate confirmation of that report.

The UN Security Council was to meet in emergency session on Monday to discuss North Korea.

Obama warned Pyongyang that its attempts to build a nuclear arsenal would only contribute to its further isolation.

"By acting in blatant defiance of the United Nations Security Council, North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community," Obama said.

"North Korea's behavior increases tensions and undermines stability in Northeast Asia. Such provocations will only serve to deepen North Korea's isolation."

He said North Korea "will not find international acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery."

A US State Department official said the United States has begun consultations with its allies about North Korea's claim and chart a course of action.

China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States have been negotiating since 2003 to persuade the North to abandon nuclear weapons in exchange for energy and security guarantees.

The negotiations led to a 2007 agreement under which the North said it would dismantle its nuclear facilities. The deal bogged down last December over ways to verify the North's nuclear activities.

In April, the North outraged the international community with a long-range rocket launch, a move that many nations said was actually a ballistic missile test.

After the Security Council condemned the launch and tightened sanctions, the North vowed to conduct a second nuclear test as well as ballistic missile tests unless the world body apologized.

It also announced that it was quitting the six-way talks, which are hosted by its closest ally China, and would restart its plutonium-making programme.

However, Obama stressed that his administration will continue working with allies and partners in the six-party talks as well as other members of the UN Security Council to resolve the new nuclear crisis.

Meanwhile, The New York Times used Pyongyang's announcement to call for formal ratification by the United States and other nuclear powers of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

"A formal ban on testing would make it harder for nuclear-armed states to build new weapons, and place another hurdle in the way of any country -- Iran comes immediately to mind -- thinking of starting an arsenal," the newspaper said in an editorial.

"North Korea's announcement that it had tested a nuclear device on Monday is a stark reminder of the many dangers out there."

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