North Korea Tuesday confirmed its third test of a nuclear device, raising new concerns over the stability of Northeast Asia.  Earlier, seismologists detected a "suspicious seismic event has taken place in North Korea", according to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization.  The temblor occurred in the same far northeastern mountain range that North Korea used for nuclear tests in the previous decade.  And it followed last month's threats from Pyongyang to test a "high level" device and make the United States its prime target.

The U.S. Geological Survey said it had detected a magnitude 4.9 earthquake located about 235 miles northeast of the capital Pyongyang in North Korea’s far northeast, where previous nuclear tests were conducted.  Japan’s geologists put the event magnitude at 5.2. 

The timing of the underground blast is significant.  South Korea is about to swear in a new president in two weeks, and North Korea's move can be seen as a threat.  And in North Korea's only ally China, no official reaction is expected immediately because many officials are off on Holiday for the New Year.  The soonest glimpse into this opaque relationship might come when Tuesday Morning rolls around in New York and the United Nations Security Council holds an emergency meeting.  Some observers believe Beijing is fed-up with North Korea's belligerence.  Last month China broke with long-standing policy and voted with the rest of the world for tighter sanctions on the hermit kingdom.