U.S. condemns N. Korea's planed nuclear test

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's plan to conduct a third nuclear test is "needlessly provocative" and will only increase its isolation, the White House said yesterday, as the United States expanded its financial sanctions.

Spokesman Jay Carney's comments were in response to the North's National Defense Commission, which also made clear yesterday that its long-range rockets are designed to carry warheads to strike the United States. Previously the North has said its launches are for a peaceful space program.

Pyongyang's statement came two days after the UN Security Council condemned its December launch of a satellite atop a long-range rocket for violating a ban on ballistic missile activity. The council, with the support of the North's only major ally, China, also tightened sanctions.

Carney said the council decision to tighten sanctions would impede the growth of weapons of mass destruction programs in North Korea. Later the U.S. government designated as "trade" several entities said to be involved in missile development.

The United States still maintains 28,000 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against aggression from the North.

North Korea's recently launched rocket has the potential to hit the U.S. west coast, but experts say it still doesn't have the capability to make a missile re-enter the atmosphere and hit a target. -- AP