North Korea nuclear test - latest updates

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Main story - Tremor detected in sign of possible
nuclear test; Analysis - How advanced is North Korea's
nuclear programme?
Summary
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North Korea claims "perfect success" in hydrogen
bomb test
Stave TV says device can be loaded onto a missile
Japan confirms North Korea carried out its sixth
nuclear test
Earlier, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake detected in
North Korea
South Korean military says tremor was "man-made"
Live Reporting
By Mario Cacciottolo, Tom Spender, Anna
Jones and Samanthi Dissanayake
All times stated are UK
9:43
How worried should you be?
A massive nuclear test like this causes global alarm,
but it does not mean that a nuclear device is likely to
be deployed in anger any time soon.
The widely held view is that it would be suicidal for
North Korea to carry out a nuclear attack - they would
almost certainly be eradicated within minutes in
retaliation. As one expert in Seoul told the Guardian
newspaper last month: "They want to get the ability to
wipe out Chicago from the map first, and then they will
be interested in diplomatic solutions."
How worried should you be?
9:40
All the world's nuclear tests
The AFP news agency tweets:
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9:38
China monitors radiation
China's Nuclear Safety Administration says it has
begun monitoring for radiation along the border after
North Korea's claimed hydrogen bomb test.
9:29
Chronology of nuclear ambitions
If you're the sort of person that likes a list, South
Korea's Yonhap news agency has put together this
chronology of all the major developments from North
Korea's first nuclear test in 2006 to its sixth and most
powerful in the last few hours.
9:20
No increased threat to Guam
You'll recall that Guam has been the most recent
focus of North Korea's threats. Pyongyang said in
recent weeks it was preparing to fire missiles towards
the US Pacific territory, with its 160,000 US citizens
and US military bases.
Guam's leadership has been doing its best to keep
people there calm, and issued a statement in the last
few hours telling people there was no immediate threat
to the island or the wider Marianas area from the
nuclear test.
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9:19
South Korea to press for more North sanctions
Chung Eui-yong, a key advisor to South Korea's
President Moon Jae-in, says they will press for the
most powerful sanctions by the UN Security Council to
completely isolate the communist state, according to
the Yonhap News Agency.
9:19
North Korea's announcement
Here is North Korean newsreader Ri Chun-hee
announcing the nuclear test, in her usual dramatic tone
and with her usual traditional outfit.
She called it "a very meaningful step in completing the
national nuclear weapons programme".
9:19
Blast casts cloud over major summit
The nuclear test will likely overshadow the BRICS
summit, taking place in Xiamen, China. That's a
gathering of the leaders from the emerging economies
of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Russia and China have both been the most reluctant
voices when it comes to penalising North Korea for its
nuclear ambitions. Our correspondent watching the
summit, Stephen McDonell, says North Korea has not
yet been mentioned in Chinese President Xi Jinping's
opening speech.
9:11
BREAKING S Korea 'considers deploying US tactical
weapons'
South Korea is considering its response and says one
option is to deploy the "most powerful US tactical
weapons" - widely seen as a reference to US nuclear
weapons.
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9:04
'I thought it was a dream'
The tremor from the powerful nuclear blast was felt
across the border in China. Some people said they ran
out of their homes in fear.
One person wrote on Chinese microblog Weibo: "I put
my underpants on and I just ran, and when I reached
the first floor I can say I wasn't the only one running
away with just my underpants on!"
"I was lying down and sleeping when the tremor woke
me up. At first, I thought it was a dream," said another,
as reported by AFP.
8:57
Will Xi speak about this?
BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonell tweets;
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8:53
China summit upstaged
Eva Dou, China reporter for Wall Street Journal tweets:
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8:48
BREAKING China 'resolutely opposes' test
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just released a
statement saying it "resolutely opposes" and "strongly
condemns" the nuclear test. You can read the
statement here in Chinese.
8:42
'Unforgivable and violates sanctions"
Here's more from Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono:
"The Japanese government has condemned the North
in the strongest terms through its embassy in Beijing,
saying that if the country had in fact conducted a
nuclear test, it is unforgivable and violates the UN
Security Council resolution.
"I called for co-ordination with the United States and
South Korea to request the United Nations to hold an
emergency Security Council meeting. Given that North
Korea apparently has no intention of engaging in
dialogue, Japan will coordinate with other countries to
adopt a new Security Council resolution."
8:42
'The messaging is clear'
Defence Expert Melissa Hanham has been looking at
the picture released by North Korea, purportedly
showing Kim Jong-un inspecting a missile-mountable
H-bomb.
"There is no way of telling if this is the actual device
that was exploded in the tunnel - it could even be a
model - but the messaging is clear. They want to
demonstrate that the know what makes a credible
nuclear warhead," she writes for the BBC.
Follow Melissa on Twitter.
8:40
'Two-stage thermonuclear device'
Martin Koelling, East Asia Correspondent with
Handelsblatt, tweets:
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8:33
Kim Jong-un's bomb picture decoded
This is the picture that will be seen across the world
today - Kim Jong-un standing very close to what seems
to be a hydrogen bomb. Defence expert Melissa
Hanham breaks down just what the picture tells us.
8:31
How the tremors were felt in NE China
People in China living near the North Korean border
have been sharing videos of the tremors from the
nuclear explosion shaking their homes.
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8:28
A backdrop of growing tensions
The BBC's Yogita Limaye in Seoul says the latest test
comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions in
the region following multiple missile launches by North
Korea, the last one conducted less than a week ago.
That one flew directly over northern Japan, which
called it an "unprecedented" threat.
"North Korea has been testing nuclear weapons since
2006 and even though repeated sanctions have been
imposed on the country, Pyongyang has said it will not
halt its nuclear programme," she adds.
You can read more about North Korea's extensive
missile programme here.
8:26
What we know so far
If you're just joining us we're covering the global
response after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear
test, a provocative breach of sanctions and a major
escalation of the rumbling crisis.
Here's what we know so far:
An artificial earthquake was detected early on
Sunday in North Korea, a clear sign of an
underground nuclear test.
A second, smaller tremor was detected shortly
afterwards, which may have been structures at the
test site collapsing.
South Korea said the tremor was nearly 10 times
more powerful than that caused by the last nuclear
test.
North Korea has issued a statement claiming to
have carried out a successful test of a hydrogen
bomb, the most powerful weapon ever created.
The device had an estimated yield of 100 kilotons,
that five times more than the bomb dropped on
Nagasaki.
It has also released pictures purporting to show a
hydrogen bomb being placed on an intercontinental
ballistic missile, the last stage is becoming a
genuine nuclear armed state.
Japan and South Korea have condemned the test.
8:25
'Final wake-up call' on nuclear weapons
There is an international treaty banning all nuclear
weapons testing. But eight nuclear countries have not
signed up to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty (CTBT) so it is not yet in force. That includes
North Korea.
“If confirmed as a nuclear test, this act would indicate
that the DPRK's nuclear programme is advancing
rapidly," Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization,
has said in a statement .
DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is
North Korea's official name.
8:25
Test 'was not unexpected'
Prof Daniel Pinkston from Troy University in Seoul says
Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test did not come as a
surprise:
Now the world has to think how we
respond to this and how we deter and
contain North Korea to ensure these
weapons are never used.
The weapons are not an end they are a
means to an end, so we have to think
about the politics, the motivations,
what North Korea will do and under
what conditions would they use these
weapons. And we have to pay closer
attention to North Korean politics and
objectives."
8:21
South Korea talks to the US
South Korea says its top security officials have been in
contact with the US to discuss what next steps to
take.
The Yonhap news agency said National Security Office
chief Chung Eui-yong had a 20 minute phone call with
his US counterpart, HR McMaster, not long after the
North issued its claim.
8:16
North Korea statement in full
Wall Street Journal's Seoul Bureau Chief tweets:
This is the full statement from North Korea on its
hydrogen bomb test.
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8:03
World's most famous TV anchor?
The North Korea TV announcement about the nuclear
test was delivered by the country's - and perhaps the
world's - most famous news anchor, Ri Chun-hee.
She has cried, laughed and shouted on Korean Central
Television for over 40 years.
What we know about Ri Chun-hee, the most famous
woman in North Korea
7:57
What will Trump response be?
This is the first nuclear detonation of Donald Trump's
presidency. He hasn't yet commented - in recent hours
he's been tweeting about the US flood disaster.
He has previously threatened to unleash " fire and fury
like the world has never seen" if North Korea
continued to threaten the US and that years of
diplomacy have achieved nothing.
It's reasonable to assume his response to this
development will not be a call for further talks.
7:51

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