Washington: A massive explosion on September 9 in North Korea on the Chinese border was not a nuclear explosion, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday (Sep 12, 2004).

"It was no kind of nuclear event. We are trying to find out more about what exactly it was," he said on Fox News-TV.

The US is monitoring it very carefully, he added.

Powell pointed out that six parties are involved in the talks, including the US, Japan and Russia and all neighbours agree a test will do real harm. All six parties, including North Korea, are committed to denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. That continues to be the goal of the United States and its partners.

Earlier, he told BBC television programme 'Meet the Press' that "they haven't conducted a test to the best of our knowledge and belief and the activity reported today is not conclusive that they're getting ready to do one or not".

A huge explosion rocked North Korea's Northern inland province of Ryanggang last week as the Stalinist State celebrated its National Day, triggering a mushroom cloud at least two miles in radius, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

The explosion appeared to be stronger than an April 22 blast that killed more than 150 people and wounded about 1,300 others in Ryongchon near the Western tip of North Korea's border with China, it said.

The South Korean President office was quoted by a media report as saying "our Government information for now shows North Korea has not conducted any nuclear test".