Our reporter Xiaoyu examines the issue.

Reporter: North Korea faced global condemnation after it announced it had set off an atomic weapon underground on Monday.

Professor Piao Jianyi of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is an expert on the Korean Peninsula. He says the strong reaction from the international community is due to the threat the nuclear test may pose to security and stability in Northeast Asia.

"We've always believed that if North Korea one day conducted a nuclear test, it would cause a chain reaction. North Korea is developing its defense force for its own security. But when it becomes more and more provocative, other nations will view it as a threat and they may develop their armed forces as well. Gradually, arms competition would bring the region into an unstable status."

Piao Jianyi went on to point out that North Korea claimed it carried out the test in reaction to a hostile policy from the US.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry released a statement on October the 3rd, claiming that they would conduct nuclear test because the hostile policy of the US has menaced its national security and its highest national interests, and that the survival of the nation is under an unprecedented threat."

China, along with many other countries, expressed strong opposition towards the test. Professor Piao Jianyi says China is deeply concerned about safeguarding the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT in the future.

"The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was believed to be the most authoritative and effective document in the world. But since 2002, North Korea has challenged the treaty by pulling out and now conducting a nuclear test. It’s another hard blow for the treaty."

Piao Jianyi says the latest nuclear test conducted by North Korea exerted a negative impact on the stalled six-party talks, however, dialogue and negotiation remain the top priority in dealing with the nuclear issue on the Korean Peniusula.

Xiaoyu, CRI news.