North Korea announced on Wednesday it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test, a development that, if confirmed, would mark a stunning step forward in its nuclear development.
"The republic's first hydrogen bomb test has been successfully performed at 10:00am on January 6, 2016, based on the strategic determination of the Workers' Party," a state television news reader announced.
Meanwhile, the US vowed to respond appropriately to North Korea's provocations after the reclusive nation claimed that it had carried out a hydrogen bomb test. "We will continue to protect and defend our allies in the region, including the Republic of Korea, and will respond appropriately to any and all North Korean provocations," State Department Spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Here are the latest updates: (Indian Standard Time)
1:30 pm: Park said at the start of the meeting that the government "must get North Korea to face corresponding measures based on closed cooperation with the international community."
1:27 pm: Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing that China would work with the international community on the decentralization of the Korean peninsula.
1:15 pm: Ri Sol Yong, a 22-year-old university student, said the test "gives us more national pride." She said, "Thanks to the fact that our country is a nuclear weapons state, I can study at the university without any worries. If we didn't have powerful nuclear weapons, we would already have been turned into the slaves of the U.S."
1:10 pm: British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Wednesday that both Britain and China opposed North Korea's test of a miniaturised hydrogen nuclear device and support the resumption of so-called six-party disarmament talks.
1:00 pm: France on Wednesday condemned North Korea's reported test of a hydrogen bomb, calling for a "strong reaction from the international community", President Francois Hollande's office said in a statement.
12:56 pm: There was no immediate response from China, North Korea's key diplomatic protector, but in a report from Pyongyang, the official Xinhua news service said that the "test apparently runs counter to relevant UN resolutions" and "is set to cause repercussions".
12:56 pm: Several governments promised a firm response as tensions soared again in northeast Asia, many calling for further action by the United Nations against the hermit nation, which is already subject to heavy international sanctions.
North Koreans watch a news broadcast on a video screen outside Pyongyang Railway Station in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. North Korea said Wednesday it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would put Pyongyang a big step closer toward improving its still-limited nuclear arsenal. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)
12:50 pm: North Korea's neighbours lined up today to condemn Pyongyang's claimed hydrogen bomb test, saying it
posed a grave threat to regional security.
12:40 pm: Kim Sok Chol, a 32-year-old man who watched the TV announcement on a big screen at the train station square, told The Associated Press that he does not know much about what a hydrogen bomb is, but added that "since we have it, the U.S. will not attack us. I think the first successful H-bomb test is a great national event."
12:30 pm: In Pyongyang, North Koreans reacted enthusiastically to the news that the country has carried out its fourth nuclear test since 2006.
12:20 pm: South Korean foreign exchange authorities were suspected by dealers to be engaging in market-smoothing activities to support the won against the dollar as risk-off sentiment was further stoked by the North's latest provocation.
12:10 pm: While vowing to stick by a no-first use policy, Wednesday's statement said Pyongyang would continue to pursue an advanced nuclear strike capability. "As long as the vicious anti-North policy of the US persists, we will never stop development of our nuclear programme," it said.
12:05 pm: The announcement by N Korea will leave the international community scrambling to verify the accuracy of the North's claims.
12:02 pm: The statement was issued by authorities from the Financial Services Commission (FSC), finance ministry and Bank of Korea after a meeting was convened following North Korea's announcement that it had conducted a nuclear test.
12:02 pm: The United States Geological Survey reported a 5.1 magnitude quake that South Korea said was 49 km (30 miles) from the Punggye-ri site where the North has conducted nuclear tests in the past.
12:02 pm: "The effect on financial markets from this nuclear test is unlikely to be large," a joint statement said.
12:00 pm: South Korea's financial authorities held a flurry of emergency meetings on Wednesday after North Korea said it successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen nuclear device, which sent the South's stocks and won lower.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signs a document regarding the test of a hydrogen bomb, in this still image taken from KRT video and released by Yonhap on January 6, 2016. North Korea's state-run television KRT on Wednesday released still photographs of Kim ordering the conduct of a nuclear test. REUTERS/Yonhap
11:59 am: "We will find out after closely analyzing it but we understand a small amount of hydrogen may have been added to the fourth nuclear test," ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters, according to the MoneyToday online news service.
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