Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Pádraig Collins

North Korea nuclear test: what we know so far

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un boasted the country had developed a new, more advanced nuclear warhead hours before it is believed to have conducted its sixth nuclear test.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un boasted the country had developed a new, more advanced nuclear warhead hours before it is believed to have conducted its sixth nuclear test. Photograph: Wong Maye-E/AP
  • Japan’s defence minister said the larger magnitude of the earthquake suggests “capability significantly exceeding the last one.”
  • US National Security Adviser, HR McMaster, spoke with his South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, for 20 minutes in an emergency phone call following the test.
  • South Korea’s weather agency, the Korea Meteorological Administration, estimated Sunday that the nuclear blast yield of the presumed test was between 50 to 60 kilotons, or five to six times stronger than the North Korea’s fifth test in September 2016.
Map
  • South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says it detected a seismic wave from 12.34 to 12.36pm around Punggyeri, North Korea, and second wave of magnitude 4.6, which it termed as a “collapse”.
  • Witnesses in the Chinese city of Yanji, on the border with North Korea, said they felt a tremor that lasted roughly 10 seconds, followed by an aftershock.
  • Japan’s prime minister, Shinzō Abe, said: “If North Korea has indeed gone ahead with a nuclear test, it is completely unacceptable and we must lodge a strong protest.”
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.