Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Updated 6.55pm
NORTH KOREA HAS successfully tested a nuclear warhead, it said today, drawing condemnation from the South which said the “maniacal recklessness” of young ruler Kim Jong-Un would lead to self-destruction.
Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan, said he was “gravely concerned” about the news.
Pyongyang’s state media said the test, which comes after a series of ballistic missile launches that have drawn international condemnation and UN sanctions, had achieved its goal of being able to fit a miniaturised nuclear warhead on a rocket.
“Our nuclear scientists staged a nuclear explosion test on a newly developed nuclear warhead at the country’s northern nuclear test site,” a North Korean TV announcer said.
“Our… party sent a congratulatory message to our nuclear scientists… for conducting the successful nuclear warhead explosion test,” she said, as the South judged it was the North’s biggest test yet, at 10 kilotons.
Reaction
Minister Flanagan said he was “gravely concerned” at the latest reports.
He said it “represents a real threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, and the entire North East Asia region”.
The reported test is the latest in a series of provocative actions undertaken by North Korea this year, and is a flagrant violation of its international obligations not to produce or test nuclear weapons. It shows a blatant disregard for recent efforts of the international community to encourage North Korea to cease such actions.
He also described the reported test as “a major challenge to international efforts to advance global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, a longstanding goal of Ireland’s foreign policy”.
Nuclear weapons are never a means to guarantee peace and security; far from it, they pose the greatest threat of all. The regime in Pyongyang must realise that this act is reckless and provocative and will only isolate it further from the international community.
He said the reported test draws into sharp focus the urgent need for engagement on nuclear disarmament by all stakeholders, and called on the North Korean authorities to cease all nuclear testing and re-engage with the Six Party Talks on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, “immediately and without pre-conditions”.
The Irish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament also condemned the test, describe nuclear weapons as “weapons of genocide, capable of killing thousands”.
“We call on all nuclear armed states to engage in negotiations leading to the elimination of nuclear weapons,” said its chairperson Dr David Hutchinson Edgar. “The possession and modernisation of nuclear arsenals by a small number of states acts as an incentive to states like North Korea to acquire these horrific weapons. Non-nuclear-armed states like Ireland have an important role to play within the international community in keeping up pressure to stigmatise, ban and eliminate nuclear weapons.”
French President Francois Hollande said he “strongly condemns” North Korea’s latest nuclear test and called on the UN Security Council to take up “this violation of its resolutions,” his office said today.
The international community must unite against this new provocation which comes after unanimous condemnation by the Security Council of the ballistic missile tests by North Korea on Monday.
China “firmly opposes” the foreign ministry of Pyongyang’s main diplomatic protector said, after its fifth atomic blast.
“Today, the DPRK again conducted a nuclear test despite widespread international opposition – the Chinese government firmly opposes this,” the ministry in Beijing said in a statement on its website, using the North’s official name.
We strongly urge the DPRK to honour its commitment to denuclearisation, comply with the relevant security council resolutions and stop taking any actions that worsen the situation.
The statement called for the issue to be resolved through six-party talks – the long-stalled negotiations process chaired by China that also brings together the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and the United States.
China’s environmental protection ministry activated a contingency plan following the blast, the official news agency Xinhua reported, adding that it was monitoring for radiation on the North Korean border.
Ties between China and the North have become strained in recent years as Pyongyang has pressed ahead with its nuclear tests, and with Kim Jong-Un yet to visit Beijing since inheriting power from his father, who died in 2011.
- © AFP 2016 additional reporting Aoife Barry
Cowradless pr!cks, the lot of them. Rot in jail.
Rot in jail? won’t happen.The longest any of them will serve is 8 years if even that.
these sentences are not enough. not by a long shot. these people don’t give a rats about their crimes or their victims because its the way they are brought up. they are brought up to be criminals. i saw it only this week with the use of 12 year old kids supposedly collecting for the local *insert random sporting club* and subsequently setting off house alarms before the ‘adult’ comes along. this is nothing new and has been happening for years. those 12 year olds will more than likely turn out the same way as the people in this article.
the point is the criminality amongst these families is rife from a very early age. This country needs to stop treating these people with kid gloves and actually come down hard on them. i’m sick of the people in charge being completely PC about the whole thing. Action is clearly needed. But unfortunately we will be having the same conversation in 10 years time when the new wave comes along
One of the couple’s children woke in terror after her dad was knocked out by the butt off a gun and screamed: “Daddy is dead.”
The relative told how quick-thinking Emma, 37, called gardai in Thurles, Co Tipperary, after the Traveller mob attempted to break the front door of their home in Burnchurch, Killenaule, just after 3am.
http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/brutal-tipperary-gang-told-parents-2836600
oh god i wish i was a prison officer now. they deserve a good kick8ng.
Between them they had over 315 convictions, empathy is not something these people experience.
last night, Vincent Browne queried why one of the papers reported that the men are Travellers. VB wanted to know what was the relevance of this fact. Well, Vincent, I think it’s very relevant.
Joyce, Mac Donagh that sums it up
Vincent Browne doesn’t realise or care that those families are like the mafia families in the US – they are families in the same way that Whitey Bulgers gang are families.
And no word of sympathy or concern for the Corcoran family.
Some people think immigration is the big problem in Irish society today…not even close. The problem is much closer to home.
I think we’re long past the point of salvation with this particular group of people so much longer sentences are needed to take violent travellers off our streets.
And cut Pavee Point’s funding while we’re at it. They’re a useless shower who only make a noise when travellers are the ‘victims’. Travellers are never the victims, it’s decent hard-working people like this family who are the victims.
100%. No place in our country for these lads.
Martin collins should be locked up along with his fellow pondlife.
I am delighted to read these comments. I thought I was the only one. Pavee Point should be forced to accept the stark reality, they have ruined this country. The media need to get real and represent us people who don’t beat our wives, who want our children educated, who pay our taxes and don’t ride our cousins (animal cruelty).
In general I would say most criminals only show remorse in hope of getting a shorter sentence.
I don’t think it should be a factor at al.
Instead of showing remorse why not try not actually committing the crime in the first place.
I still believe they should have got thirty years. Beating a poor man so badly that his little eight year old girl thinks he’s going to die is a horrible crime.
These people have no place in society. We should have to accept some people have to be locked away.
Their sentences should never have had 4 years suspended. It’s disgraceful. Especially with their track record.
4 years suspended plus they will only serve 9 months for each year they got.
Their ringleader has been out on bail since the crime was committed. Its mind boggling. Is anybody trying to fix the justice system in this country? Anyone?
Why is there a blanket ban in all the media on using the T word They were a violent traveller gang who did this It is even not fair on law abiding travellers to protect them by not using T word
One of them was a 22 year old with 120 previous convictions. The judges who presided over cases 3 through 120 have a lot to answer for.
The sentences are far too lenient in my opinion. These individuals will spend their time in prison lifting weights, watching Netflix and be a general burden on the Tax payer. They should be incarcerated for at least 25 years and also put to hard labour working on projects that will benefit the community they so will fully set out to destroy. I’m sure Clonmel has plenty of roads and other public works that could be completed using free labour. Our laws MUST change to dispense much harsher punishments for crimes or we are never going to see a change in society.
Fingers crossed the family make a full recovery and that the young impressionable minds of the children can let this awful incident go and not have it haunt them in any way later in their lives. Fair play to the community for setting up a system to try to help them feel comfortable again.
Intelligence suggested that they got more of a kick out of terrorising innocent victims than from the rewards of their crimes.
Nasty crew.
http://www.sundayworld.com/news/crimedesk/we-unmask-vicious-gang-of-thieves-responsible-for-spate-of-robberies
I said it yesterday and believe worth saying again. We need more prisons and to dramatically increase our prison population. Too many repeat offenders walking the streets as there is no room for them.
Bring back transportation to Australia!
The broken justice system is responsible for this families hardship. The thug only in his twenties and 70 convictions, why was he not in jail? Too expensive to lock him up? How much did his legal aid, dole, housing and the fall out of his 70 crimes cost in that period? If you are convicted of 70 crimes and are still free you learn one thing – i can commit crime with impunity. Our justice system is not only failing to protect our citezens, it is creating these violent criminals
Citizens
I can’t believe, considering what the family went through and conditions go through and the defendants previous convictions, up to 85 for one of them, these are considered harsh sentences. that poor family.
*continue to go through
As shocking story. This family will never, ever get over this. It was a despicable, brutal crime. I understand that someone on VB yesterday indicated that perpetrators were travellers to which VB said what had that got to do with it? Typical VB, more concerned about the feelings of the criminals.
Claire Loftus,DPP must appeal these shockingly light sentences
And who on Earth thought it was acceptable to release John Joyce on bail while awaiting this case to go to trial??? He had over 70 convictions FFS. While on bail he went on a robbing, violent spree where three people were shot. One of his gang members was banned from every pub in Dublin because he was so violent.
Dublins finest knacker’s coming down the country for an easy score. Rot in a cell you dirty sub human inbreds. Show them as much mercy as they’ve shown their innocent victims.
Gangs like this and the Dundon’s, McCarthys, Keane’s, Collopy’s and too many others have been allowed run riot all over Ireland and terrorise communities. All of those families are traveller families. The Limerick feud alone has claimed 20 lives, some of them innocent like Shane Geoghegan.
If our broken justice system is going to allow violent criminals roam around on a bail why dont we have an electronic tag system???? The solutions are not difficult. A monkey could sort it out
They should have a special room full of skilled operators, equipped with hammers, blowtorches, cable ties and tweezers to work this pondlife one over at a time…
I’d prefer not to think along those lines much as they might deserve it. Better to say ‘stuff’ the European Court of Human rights and bring in sentences of weekly floggings for a year for lowlife dregs like them
Shot to kill- if an inbred knacker comes onto you’re property do the state a service and pull the trigger. You probably wouldn’t do any time and you’d be feted as a hero.
Every sympathy with the Corcoran family and hope that they will fully recover from their horrific ordeal.
Now, I have this to say about those who did that:
They are nothing but seven pathetic, parasitic, subhuman pieces of dog-turd; the decent people of Ireland hope that they rot in prison for a very long time
I hope they all die in prison
great work by gardaí !! with limited resources, disasterous government policy, detrimental decision making by the ivory tower judges, they continue to face these s****bags head on every day.
Hope the poor family get though the traumatic incident.
Hopefully political parties will now start campaigning for elections they will consider crime up there with health and education.
too long crime has not been tackled or concerned by those representing the people.
why wont my comments post?!
At last a judge gives sentences that fit the crime.
And fair play to Judge Tom Teahan, this should serve as a wake-up call to the remainder of our judiciary
It’s our culture boss
have your say