26 May,2009 08:36 AM IST | | AFP
North Korea informed the United States of its nuclear test less than an hour before the widely condemned explosion, a US official has confirmed.
A senior administration official yesterday said on condition of anonymity that the North informed the US State Department of "its intention to conduct a nuclear test, without citing a specific timing."
The official did not say how Pyongyang informed Washington, but communication between the two countries -- which do not have diplomatic ties -- is generally conducted through their UN missions in New York.
North Korea's notice reached the State Department between 8:00 and 9:00 pm Sunday (0530 and 0630 IST Monday), the official said.
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According to the US Geological Survey, a 4.7-magnitude tremor shook North Korea at 0624 IST.
The official said Obama was informed of the seismic observation in North Korea at 11:15 pm (0845 GMT) and was on the telephone 45 minutes later with his national security adviser, Jim Jones, a retired general.
A South Korean official had earlier said the North had given prior notice of its nuclear test both to the United States and China, Pyongyang's main ally.
North Korea also gave prior notice last month of its defiant long-range missile launch in May.
