China calls for restraint after DPRK nuclear test

US and South Korean media said the strategic assets Washington was considering included the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier US Ronald Reagan, B-2 bombers, nuclear-powered submarines and F-22 stealth fighter jets.

The nuclear-capable bomber took off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and later was joined by F-16 and F-15 fighter jets in what US officials said was meant to demonstrate the strength of the USA alliance with South Korea.

Interviewed on CNN, McDonough said the U.S. would work with South Korea, Japan, China and Russian Federation “to deeply isolate the North Koreans” and “squeeze” them until they lived up to prior commitments to get rid of their nuclear weapons.

United States forces stationed in South Korea have been put on the highest alert, as the two countries discussed deploying more strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula after a US B-52 bomber flew over the South in a show of force against North Korea on Sunday. But they also seem aimed toward bolstering support for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who reportedly is still trying to consolidate power after taking over following the death of his father four years ago.

On Monday, the Unification Ministry announced that the number of South Koreans allowed to stay overnight in Kaesong was being reduced from 800 to 650.

“(The test) created tension and protecting the safety of our people became our priority”.

China fears North Korea’s nuclear programme destabilises its neighbourhood and gives the United States a pretext to send weapons and forces to the region.

Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the United Nations (UN) Command/Combined Forces Command/US Forces Korea (USFK), made the order during a visit to the Osan Air Base, operated jointly by the US and South Korea, a USFK official said.

In retaliation for the nuclear test, South Korea’s military restarted blasting anti-DPRK propaganda messages from speakers at Friday noon across the border into the DPRK, which had called it an ” act of declaring war”.

Officials say 512 South Koreans stayed at the park overnight, and 479 of them were scheduled to return to the South later on Saturday.

The Kaesong industrial estate opened in 2004 and now hosts more than 120 South Korean companies which employ some 53,000 North Korean workers.

Seoul can’t stand down easily, some analysts say, and it’s highly unlikely that the North will express regret for its nuclear test, which is a source of intense national pride.

North Korean military personnel clap hands in a rally, after North Korea said Wednesday it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test last week.

But the worldwide skepticism surrounding Pyongyang’s H-bomb claim did nothing to dampen the celebratory mood in the North Korean capital in response to the test.