North Korea nuclear test

Summary

North Korea claims it has conducted its first successful test of a hydrogen bomb as tremor detected close to main nuclear test site
Announcement met with both international condemnation - but also scepticism over whether blast was large enough to have been from H-bomb
South Korean ministers are holding an emergency meeting and the UN Security Council will meet later
All times GMT

Live Reporting

Becky Branford and Joel Gunter

North Korea's 'stirring explosive sound'published at 07:53
by BBC Monitoring
A translation of the note apparently written by Kim Jong-un when he signed the order for the test:"Make the entire world look up to the powerful nuclear state of chuche [North Korean political ideology], the socialist line, the great Workers Party of Korea [WPK], by opening up the solemn prelude of 2016, the year of victory and glory when the historic Seventh Congress of the WPK will be held, with a stirring explosive sound of a hydrogen bomb! [signed] Kim Jong Un; 15 December, 2015."
China respondspublished at 07:48
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hua Chunying has given a statement saying that "China is firmly against" North Korea's nuclear test, and called for all sides to stick to six party talks to "achieve security" on the Korean peninsula.
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Timeline of nuclear North Koreapublished at 07:24
AFP's graphics editor has shared this timeline charting North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
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Happy H-birthday cartoonspublished at 07:24
This cartoon by Indian artist Satish Acharya is slowly but widely being circulated on Twitter.
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Signed by Kimpublished at 07:23
This note, apparently handwritten by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is being widely shared by social media users on Twitter and Chinese microblogging site Weibo.
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If bomb has failed, what next?published at 07:19
Rand Corporation senior defence analyst Bruce Bennett tells the BBC that with the lack of a very powerful explosion - a possible sign of a failed hydrogen bomb test - there is a chance North Korea may try testing again before the important May party congress. "With the world saying it didn't work out, Kim Jong-un may be under significant pressure to make it work," he says.
The market effectpublished at 07:13
South Korea's national currency, the won, has sunk to an all-time low following the North's hydrogen bomb announcement.
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Propaganda picturespublished at 07:05
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'Seismically similar'published at 06:50
Ankit Panda, associate editor of current affairs magazine The Diplomat, tells the BBC the test's tremor was "seismically similar" to a 2013 test of a nuclear device - another indication that it was "not a fully staged thermonuclear device".
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Testing for radioactivitypublished at 06:56
A lab employee from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety checks for radioactive traces in the air at the institute's office at Gangneung, east of Seoul - the closest one to the site of the North's claimed test. Officials say it will take three to four days to analyse air samples in detail.
Image source, EPA
No support for claim - Chinese mediapublished at 06:47
Chinese state media outlets are discounting North Korea's claims.
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Hydrogen speculationpublished at 06:45
Nevertheless there has been speculation. A South Korean news outlet has quoted defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok as saying that "a small amount of hydrogen" may have been added to the device tested, reports Reuters.
Not an H-bomb?published at 06:44
Scepticism from lawmakers in South Korea, citing the spy agency.
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'Rogue state'published at 06:43
Australia's foreign minister Julie Bishop has released a statement, saying: "Today’s nuclear test confirms North Korea’s status as a rogue state and a continuing threat to international peace and security."
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South Korea is on high alertpublished at 06:42
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South Korea 'retaliation'published at 06:30
South Korea's Yonhap news agency has quoted President Park Geun-hye as saying her country will carry out "stern retaliation" if provoked.
Image source, AFP/Getty Images
'Speaking straight to the Oval Office'published at 06:22
Jasper Kim of the Asia-Pacific Global Research Group told the BBC that the test could be seen as a direct warning to US President Barack Obama. "Kim Jong-un is speaking straight to the Oval Office... to someone who can pick up the phone and make something happen," he said.
A 'wake-up call' for the worldpublished at 06:15
The head of an international body set up to monitor a planned ban on nuclear testing, has condemned North Korea's fourth nuclear test.
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UN council to meetpublished at 06:14
The United Nations Security Council is due to convene later today. Hagar Chemali of the US Mission to the UN said in a statement that both the US and Japan requested the emergency meeting.
'Grave breach'published at 06:13
Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Secretary, has posted this message on Twitter:
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