channel[van]

As Seoul grapples with ex-President Roh's suicide, North Korea defies international law with a nuclear blast By announcing on May 25 that it has carried out a second test of nuclear weapons, North Korea is sending a message to the world that it is determined to be recognized as a nuclear power—even if the consequence is deeper international isolation. North Korea watchers in Seoul believe the test is a confirmation of Pyongyang's policy to consolidate the repressive regime of its military-backed leader Kim Jong Il in the face of his deteriorating health. "Everything else comes second," says Dong Yong Sueng, head of the economic security team at Samsung Economic Research Institute, a think tank for South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung. To heighten tensions further, North Korea also fired three short-range missiles from its east coasts on May 25. South Koreans are accustomed to threats from the communist North, so jitters about military provocations are usually s