SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean government condemned the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Tuesday, calling it a "clear violation" of UN resolutions.
"North Korea (DPRK) will not be able to avoid being held accountable for (the test)," national security adviser Chun Yung-Woo told reporters after an emergency security meeting presided over by President Lee Myung-bak.
"In accordance with our consistent and firm principle that we will not tolerate North Korea's nuclear tests, the government will seek all measures, including those at the level of UN Security Council, to deter North Korea's nuclear ambition," Chun said, calling the test a "threat" to regional stability.
South Korea is considering countermeasures including the deployment of longer-range missiles capable of striking all parts of the DPRK at an earlier date, according to Cho.
President-elect Park Geun-hye, who replaces Lee later this month, "strongly condemned" the test and vowed to make joint efforts with the international community to denuclearize the DPRK, Park's spokeswoman Cho Yoon-sun told reporters.
"North Korea must strictly abide by all UN resolutions and keep its pledge of denuclearization," Park, who campaigned on improving inter-Korean relations, was quoted by Cho as saying.
Lee and Park are scheduled to meet to discuss the nuclear test and security threats posed by the northern neighbor.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, meanwhile, held a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and agreed to make a "swift and unified" response at the UN Security Council, which is expected to call an emergency meeting.
Lim Sung-nam, South Korea's top envoy for stalled talks aimed at ridding the DPRK of nuclear programs, also discussed the nuclear test with his American and Japanese counterparts.
The underground nuclear test, which the DPRK claimed was successful, was carried out at 11:57 a.m. local time in the DPRK's Kilju County, North Hamkyung Province. An artificial earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 was detected from the town, where the DPRK's nuclear test facility is located.
The DPRK said it successfully used smaller and lighter atomic bombs in the underground test, with South Korean authorities estimating the yield at six to seven kilotons.
South Korea's military was immediately put on heightened alert to deter potential cross-border provocations, while the South Korean and U.S. forces upgraded their border surveillance level.
The defense ministry here is keeping an eye on developments in the DPRK to monitor potential signs of additional nuclear or missile tests.
Pyongyang recently vowed to proceed with missile and nuclear tests targeting the United States, its "sworn enemy," to protest the UN condemnation over its Dec. 12 rocket launch.
Pyongyang conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.
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