US, South Korea Test Water, Air Samples Following North’s Nuclear Test

“We will be working very closely in the Security Council and beyond to come up with the strongest possible measure against North Korea’s latest actions”, said Kim.

North Korea marked the 68th anniversary of its founding with its most powerful nuclear test to date, triggering a magnitude 5.3 natural disaster and reactions from worldwide leaders in the process.

Furthermore, members the Council also recalled that they had previously expressed their determination to take further significant measures in the event of another DPRK nuclear test.

Russian Federation has urged all parties to remain calm and not to escalate the already tense situation, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressing that the UN Security Council resolutions “must be observed”, while saying that Moscow is “very concerned about the test”.

The North’s nuclear program has been accompanied by a series of ballistic missile launches.

The world leaders condemned the blast which was estimated to have an explosive power of 10 kilotons, nearly twice as large as the previous test, according to Kim Nam-wook of South Korea’s Meteorological Administration.

The investigation team will collect air and water samples to test for radioactive material such as xenon, Yonhap reported.

North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on Friday that culminated with Pyongyang’s 68th anniversary.

The South Korean military official also the news agency that the North’s leadership would be specifically targeted, with the city to be “reduced to ashes and removed from the map”.

US President Barack Obama said he would do what was necessary to protect the US and allies from North Korea.

But refusing to be intimidated, North Korea’s ruling party’s newspaper Rodong Sinmun hit back, saying: “Gone are the days, never to return, when the United States could make nuclear blackmail against the DPRK”.

The spokesperson also urged the USA to recognize North Korea as a “legitimate nuclear weapons state”.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Steffen Seibert condemned the test and said it was an irresponsible action by North Korea to destabilise region.

“If they have not reached that capability today, they certainly will relatively soon with further nuclear test explosions and ballistic missile tests”.

That includes the United States, which is considering its own sanctions against North Korea on top of any that might be imposed by the U.N. Security Council, South Korea and Japan.

The nuclear bomb dropped by the USA on Hiroshima in 1945 had a yield of about 15 kilotonnes.