North Korea has sparked alarm around the world by testing a nuclear bomb. It has staged its most powerful nuclear test yet, claiming a breakthrough with a "miniaturised" device in a striking act of defiance to global powers including its sole patron China. Its claim of miniaturisation suggests that it is a step closer to fitting a nuclear warhead onto a ballistic missile.
North Korea stated that the nuclear test was conducted as part of measures to protect national security and sovereignty against the reckless hostility of the United States that violated republic's right for a peaceful satellite launch.
The first priority for the international community will be determining the precise nature and yield of any test and what it reveals about the technical level of the North's nuclear weapons programme. For nuclear experts, the key question will be whether North Korea used up more of its scarce reserves of plutonium for the suspected third test, or used uranium in a new and self-sustaining path to atomic detonations
A uranium test would confirm suspicions that the North has been secretly enriching weapons-grade uranium for years and open a path for Pyongyang to significantly expand its small nuclear arsenal.
Some experts had suggested a simultaneous test of both plutonium and a uranium device.
Even with sophisticated seismic monitoring and "sniffer" planes capable of detecting radioactive fallout, external analysis will provide only limited information on the test, especially if it was well-contained.
North Korea's two previous tests in 2006 and 2009 which triggered waves of UN sanctions.
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