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It's 15:00 Universal Time. And here is the news from the Voice of America.

I'm David Deforest from the VOA news center in Washington.

Japan and the United States are seeking tough United Nations sanctions in response to what may have been a North Korean test of nuclear bomb. The relatively small size of Monday's blast has made it difficult for scientists to confirm North Korea's claim that the test produced a nuclear explosion. Japan says it is testing air samples outside North Korea for traces of radioactivity. As scientists work to analyze evidence, Japan and the United States are pushing for punitive actions against North Korea, including a total arms embargo, a ban on luxury items, international inspections of cargo going into or out of the country and possible financial sanctions. A United States proposal for such actions was circulated among Security Council members on Monday. The US Ambassador is John Bolton.

"The sanctions we're proposing in the Security Council are specifically designed to target North Korea's programs of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, chemical, biological, its explicit missile program and its other illicit activities."

Mr. Bolton says Russia and China reacted favorably to the draft. The United States envoy to South Korea is hinting that the already rocky relationship with North Korea might be getting worse. At the same time, South Korean lawmakers are turning up the heat on President Roh Moo-hyun's Administration. VOA's Kurt Achin has more from Seoul.

The US Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow implied Tuesday that North Korea's apparent test of a nuclear weapon has made a direct dialogue with Washington less likely.

"Where we go from here after yesterday's events though is a different question."

The North Koreans appeared to be turning up the rhetoric in the face of international condemnation. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified North Korean official Tuesday as saying he hoped the nuclear issue could be resolved before there was, in his words, an unhappy incident of us firing a nuclear missile. In Seoul, the cabinet President Roh Moo-hyun came under scrutiny, especial Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok. Lee is in charge of implementing President Roh's engagement policy which has transferred billions of dollars of aid and investments to the North. Lee says he tried to get North Korea to end its nuclear programs through diplomacy. He says he's sorry for failing and for making the public feel insecure. A spokesman quoted President Roh Tuesday as saying the engagement policy would have to change but did not say how. Kurt Achin VOA news, Seoul.

Iraqi officials say a car bomb explosion in Baghdad has killed at least 10 people and wounded several others. The blast ripped through a crowd outside a bakery, in the mainly Sunni Dora neighbourhood in southern Baghdad today. Iraqi officials also say 60 bodies have been found in the Baghdad area in the past day, all with gunshot wounds, and some showing signs of torture likely the latest victims of sectarian death squad.

In other news, the US military says DNA testing has confirmed the death of an al-Qaida terrorist who escaped from a US prison in Afghanistan last year. Mahamoud Ahmed Mohammed Al-Roshid was killed in a raid September 25th in Basra.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has assured NATO's new commander in Afghanistan, that his country fully backs the fight against the Taliban. Visiting British General David Richards met General Musharraf for an hour of talks on security and cooperation. The president, General Musharraf, told General Richards that Pakistan was cooperating with Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Earlier, Richards told private Geo TV channel that Pakistan's peace accord with Islamic militants through local tribal elders in North Waziristan can set an example for NATO forces.

The United Nation says more than 2,000 Somali refugees have arrived in Kenya since Friday, as they attempted to escape fighting between the interim government and the Islamist militias. In a written statement today, the UN said some 1,300 people walked into temporary reception centers near Kenya's border on Monday alone. It said more than 30,000 Somali refugees have sought an asylum in Kenya since the beginning of the year.

Police and oil company officials in Nigeria say a group of militants has overrun an oil facility belonging to Royal Dutch Shell in southern Bayelsa state. Such attacks on oil producing operations are common in Nigeria's Niger River Delta.

Brief look at markets on Wall Street, US stock indexes are mixed at this hour. I'm David Deforest, VOA news. More news on the Internet at voanews.com.