Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption US ambassador Nikki Haley: "Kim Jong-un is begging for war" 
 
 The US envoy to the UN has urged the Security Council to take the "strongest possible measures" against North Korea after its latest nuclear test. 
 
 "The time has come to exhaust all diplomatic means before it is too late," Nikki Haley told an emergency meeting of the council in New York. 
 
 The US will circulate a draft resolution, for a vote next Monday. 
 
 South Korea is poised to scrap a warhead weight limit on its own missiles after talks with the US. 
 
 President Moon Jae-in reached agreement by phone with his counterpart, Donald Trump. Missiles are currently capped at 500kg (1,100lb). 
 
 The country carried out live-fire exercises on Monday, simulating an attack on the North's nuclear test site. 
 
 Reports suggest the North is preparing new test missile launches. It tested a nuclear bomb underground on Sunday. Estimates of its power range from 50 kilotonnes to 120 kilotonnes. A 50kt device would be about three times the size of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. 
 
 In other developments: 
 
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would press for tougher EU sanctions on North Korea, agreeing with Mr Trump by phone on the need for stricter sanctions 
 
 Swiss President Doris Leuthard said her country was prepared to act as a mediator and called for more discreet negotiations, saying "Twitter won't be an adequate instrument" 
 
 Japan is planning, in the event of war, for a mass evacuation of nearly 60,000 Japanese citizens currently living in or visiting South Korea, Nikkei Asian Review reports 
 
 'Begging for war' 
 
 Opening Monday's meeting, UN Under Secretary General Jeffrey Feltman said North Korea's actions were destabilising global security, and he called on Pyongyang to abide by Security Council resolutions. 
 
 "The DPRK [North Korea] is the only country that continues to break the norm against nuclear test explosions," he said. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption The UN Security Council last imposed sanctions in August, targeting North Korean exports 
 
 Ms Haley argued that only the strongest sanctions would enable the problem to be resolved through diplomacy. 
 
 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had shown through his actions that he was "begging for war", she said. 
 
 "War is never something the United States wants," she continued. "We don't want it now but our country's patience is not unlimited." 
 
 She was speaking after President Trump warned the US might consider stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea. 
 
 "The United States will look at every country that does business with North Korea as a country that is giving aid to their reckless and dangerous nuclear intentions," Ms Haley said. 
 
 The British ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, said direct talks with North Korea were only possible if Pyongyang stopped the escalation. 
 
 "Dialogue will always be our end goal but returning to dialogue without a serious sign of intent from Pyongyang would be a set-up to failure," he said. "North Korea must change course to allow a return to dialogue." 
 
 China's envoy to the UN, Liu Jieyi, reiterated a call for all sides to return to negotiations. "The peninsula issue must be resolved peacefully," he said. "China will never allow chaos and war on the peninsula." 
 
 What happens next? 
 
 By Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent 
 
 China is key but it is a conflicted party. On the one hand it does not want to see a nuclear-armed North Korea and it has made its view clear to Pyongyang on many occasions. 
 
 However, it does not want to see the North Korean regime swept away. This would result in millions of refugees flooding into China and would probably result in a unified Korea very much in the US orbit. This is seen in Beijing as worse than having a difficult nuclear neighbour. 
 
 If China were to take the view that the coincidence of a rapidly advancing North Korean nuclear programme and the uncertainties of the Trump administration's diplomatic capabilities means that there is a very real risk of misunderstanding and catastrophe, then maybe it might bring much greater pressure to bear on Pyongyang. 
 
 North Korea is a very isolated country and China is both its major ally and economic prop. There is a lot more that China can do. North Korea's recent testing has been as much an embarrassment to China as it has angered the US. But the Chinese have a difficult diplomatic calculation to make. 
 
 Full version of analysis 
 
 What other sanctions remain? 
 
 Last month, the Security Council voted unanimously to ban North Korean exports and limit investments in the country. 
 
 Ms Haley did not spell out what additional measures might be taken but diplomats have suggested an oil embargo would have a crippling effect. 
 
 There could also be a ban on the North's national airline, curbs on North Koreans working abroad, and asset freezes and travel bans on officials. 
 
 How big was the latest test? 
 
 It was North Korea's sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date. The US Geological Survey recorded a resulting tremor at 6.3 magnitude. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nuclear N Korea: What do we know? 
 
 Kim Jong-un was pictured on camera being shown what state media said was a new type of hydrogen bomb. 
 
 South Korea said it was now presumed that the North had reduced its nuclear warhead in size to below 500kg, and would be able to attach one to an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). 
 
 But analysts have said the North's claims about miniaturisation should be treated with considerable caution. 
 
 Earlier on Monday, a South Korean defence ministry official said there were signs of "possibly more ballistic missile launches", including an ICBM. 
 
 How else are the South and its US ally responding? 
 
 Monday's drills simulated the targeting of the Punggye-ri nuclear site in Kilju County, where North Korea carried out its bomb test. Missiles were fired from the ground and rockets from fighter jets. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption South Korea carries out live-fire drills in response to the nuclear test 
 
 The defence ministry in Seoul said there would be more live-fire drills in the South this month, involving Taurus air-to-surface missiles mounted on F-15 jets. 
 
 The ministry also told parliament the US would seek to deploy a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to seas off the peninsula. 
 
 Four more launchers of the US Thaad (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence) missile defence system -strongly opposed by China and Russia - would also be deployed to join two already at a site in Seongju, south of Seoul. 
 
 North Korea's nuclear tests ||||| In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, South Korea's Hyunmoo II ballistic missile is fired during an exercise at an undisclosed location in South Korea, Monday, Sept. 4, 2017. In South... (Associated Press) 
 
 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on North Korea's nuclear test and the world reaction (all times local): 
 
 5:30 p.m. 
 
 A senior Russian diplomat has strongly condemned North Korea's latest nuclear test. 
 
 The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting, its second in less than a week, after North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date. 
 
 In unusually strong language, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday urged North Korea to "stop provocative actions that destabilize the situation." 
 
 He said Moscow sees "a dangerous trend in how quickly North Korea is making progress" in its nuclear program. 
 
 Ryabkov insisted that Moscow still sees diplomacy as the only viable solution to the Korea crisis. 
 
 He said: "The one who is stronger and smarter should show restraint." 
 
 Ryabkov was speaking to Russian news agencies on the sidelines of a summit of major emerging economics in China. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:15 p.m. 
 
 China has warned North Korea against proceeding with its reported plans to launch another ballistic missile, saying it should not worsen tensions. 
 
 Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Monday that North Korea "must be very clear" that U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibit such activities. 
 
 South Korea's Defense Ministry said Monday that North Korea appeared to be planning a future missile launch, possibly of an ICBM. 
 
 In Beijing, Geng said China hopes all parties, especially North Korea, "exercise restraint and refrain from further escalating tensions." 
 
 Geng also said that China had lodged "stern representations" with the North Korean Embassy in Beijing after the North conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sunday. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5 p.m. 
 
 South Korea says Donald Trump's national security adviser H.R. McMaster spoke with his South Korean counterpart on Monday, a third time the two spoke since North Korea's sixth nuclear test. 
 
 South Korea's presidential office said Chung Eui-yong, President Moon Jae-in's national security director, spoke with McMaster for 30 minutes on the phone on Monday morning to discuss the latest updates on the two countries' response to the North's test and their future response. 
 
 The U.S. confirmed its strong defense commitment on South Korea and they both agreed to closely collaborate to come up with stern punitive measure against the North's provocation. 
 
 4:50 p.m. 
 
 China says President Donald Trump's threat to cut off trade with countries that deal with North Korea is unacceptable and unfair. 
 
 Trump said on Twitter on Sunday the United States is considering halting trade with "any country doing business with North Korea." His remarks came after North Korea detonated a thermonuclear device in its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. 
 
 Geng Shuang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters at a briefing in Beijing on Monday that China regarded as "unacceptable a situation in which on the one hand we work to resolve this issue peacefully but on the other hand our own interests are subject to sanctions and jeopardized." 
 
 Geng said: "This is neither objective nor fair." 
 
 China is the North's closest ally and commercial partner. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:30 p.m. 
 
 South Korea says the U.S. military will soon install additional missile-defense launchers at the site in southeastern South Korea in order to counter North Korea's provocations. 
 
 South Korea's defense ministry says the installation of four missile launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, also known as THAAD, was a "temporary" deployment as it needed to respond to the advancement of the North's nuclear and missile threats. 
 
 The ministry says the final deployment of the THAAD missile system will hinge on an environmental impact study. The U.S. anti-missile system has been a source of diplomatic tensions between South Korea and China, which fears its powerful radar may peer into Chinese territory. It has also faced opposition from local residents who say the previous administration made a hasty decision to install the U.S. anti-missile system without due procedures. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:20 p.m. 
 
 China and other major emerging economies say they "strongly deplore" North Korea's latest nuclear test. 
 
 The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are meeting at the BRICS summit in southeastern China. The leaders adopted a declaration Monday in which they expressed "deep concern over the ongoing tension and prolonged nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula." 
 
 The text of the declaration, posted on India's Ministry of External Affairs website, also said the countries emphasized the issue should be settled through peaceful means and dialogue — echoing Beijing's long-held position. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:15 p.m. 
 
 Japan's leader says he will seek to bolster his country's missile defense in the face of the growing North Korean threat. 
 
 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that his government would push for adding equipment such as the U.S.-developed Aegis Ashore missile interceptor. 
 
 His comments to a meeting of top officials from the government and his ruling party came one day after North Korea conducted its biggest nuclear test to date. 
 
 Abe said Japan would maintain high caution for what he called "further provocations" from North Korea. 
 
 Japan's Defense Ministry said last week in its 2018 budget proposal that it is considering the Aegis Ashore anti-missile system. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:40 p.m. 
 
 Egypt has condemned North Korea's nuclear test, warning of threats to regional security. 
 
 The Foreign Ministry expressed worries Monday that the escalating activity could unleash a nuclear arms race in the region. 
 
 The statement on Monday comes nearly 10 days after the U.S. announced it was withholding millions of dollars in aid to Egypt over human rights concerns. Observers, however, have noted that the move is also linked to Egypt's relations with North Korea as the U.S. continues to isolate North Korea economically and politically. 
 
 In a phone call in July, President Donald Trump gave a thinly veiled warning to Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to stop its economic cooperation with Pyongyang. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:30 p.m. 
 
 A publication of the ruling Communist Party has urged China to avoid imposing a full embargo on North Korea. The Global Times newspaper said in an editorial Monday that such a response would trigger war. 
 
 The paper said the nuclear test conducted Sunday was "another wrong choice that Pyongyang has made" in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. 
 
 It said China should avoid overly aggressive sanctions, as long as North Korea's tests do not contaminate China's northeastern provinces. China's Ministry of Environmental Protection says radiation monitoring data showed no impact from the test as of early Monday. 
 
 Meanwhile, leading Chinese government-backed scholar Lu Chao says China will likely agree to slap more sanctions on its ally North Korea over its latest nuclear test. But Lu asserted that dialogue remained necessary. 
 
 "The U.S should take specific and sincere actions toward North Korea instead of making enhanced threats," said Lu, of the Academy of Social Sciences in Liaoning province abutting North Korea. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:20 p.m. 
 
 South Korean media says Seoul's military believes North Korea is readying the launch of a ballistic missile, possibly an ICBM. 
 
 Yonhap news agency reports that Seoul's defense ministry also measures North Korea's nuclear test at 50 kilotons. The detonation Sunday was the strongest ever from the North, which claimed the test was of a hydrogen bomb. 
 
 South Korea responded to the nuclear test with live-fire drills off its eastern coast Monday that were meant to simulate an attack on the North's main nuclear test site. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:30 p.m. 
 
 The leaders of South Korea and Japan have agreed to work together to build support for further sanctions against North Korea following its latest nuclear test. 
 
 Japanese broadcaster NHK says Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in discussed the crisis by telephone Monday, ahead of an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting. 
 
 Abe also spoke with President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin late Sunday night. 
 
 Japan's Foreign Ministry said that Abe strongly encouraged Russia to respond constructively as a permanent member of the Security Council. He and Putin agreed to continue talks later this week in Vladivostok, Russia. 
 
 Abe told Trump that North Korea's nuclear test is a serious threat to Japan's security that poses a "head-on challenge" to the international community. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11 a.m. 
 
 Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on China to bring North Korea to its "senses" following its apparent test of a hydrogen bomb. 
 
 He said China will be enforcing U.N. economic sanctions against North Korea but "there will be more that needs to be done given the affront that North Korea has shown to China" by testing its sixth nuclear device on Sunday. 
 
 Turnbull told reporters in Canberra on Monday that the risk of war breaking out on the Korean Peninsula is at its highest in over 60 years. He said China, as the North's closest ally and commercial partner, had the economic leverage to and therefore the responsibility to influence North Korea. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:45 a.m. 
 
 South Korea's military says it conducted a live-fire exercise simulating an attack on North Korea's nuclear test site to "strongly warn" Pyongyang over the latest nuclear test. 
 
 Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the drill involved F-15 fighter jets and the country's land-based "Hyunmoo" ballistic missiles and that the released live weapons "accurately struck" a target in the sea off the country's eastern coast. 
 
 The JCS says that the target was set considering the distance to where the North's test site was and the exercise was aimed at practicing precision strikes and cutting off reinforcements. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:45 a.m. 
 
 The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting after North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date. 
 
 The U.S., Japan, France, Britain and South Korea requested Monday's meeting after North Korea detonated what it called a hydrogen bomb. 
 
 It will be the Security Council's second urgent session in under a week on the North's weapons tests, which have continued in the face of a series of sanctions. 
 
 After North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan, the council Tuesday strongly condemned the test and reiterated demands that Pyongyang halt its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. 
 
 Monday could bring additional condemnation and discussion of other potential steps. 
 
 Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Sunday's nuclear test. His spokesman calls it "profoundly destabilizing for regional security." 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:35 a.m. 
 
 U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is responding to North Korea's latest nuclear test by saying threats to the United States and its allies "will be met with a massive military response." 
 
 Mattis spoke at the White House on Sunday following a meeting with President Donald Trump and national security advisers. He says any response will be "both effective and overwhelming." 
 
 Mattis says the United States is "not looking to the total annihilation" of North Korea, but added "we have many options to do so." 
 
 North Korea claimed "perfect success" in an underground test of what it called a hydrogen bomb — potentially vastly more destructive than an atomic bomb. It was the North's sixth nuclear test since 2006, but the first since Trump took office in January. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:30 a.m. 
 
 The president of the European Commission says North Korea's latest nuclear test compels the international community to unite in swift and decisive reaction. 
 
 Donald Tusk said the European Union stands ready to sharpen its policy of sanctions and invites North Korea to restart dialogue on its nuclear and missile programs without condition. 
 
 In Sunday's statement, Tusk said the EU calls on the U.N. Security Council "to adopt further U.N. sanctions and show stronger resolve to achieve a peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," adding, "The stakes are getting too high." 
 
 He said North Korea must abandon its nuclear weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a verifiable and irreversible manner and it must cease all related activities at once. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:20 a.m. 
 
 Turkey has strongly condemned the latest North Korean nuclear test. 
 
 In a statement published Sunday, Turkey's foreign ministry said the test was "irresponsible and provocative," while ignoring international law and endangering regional peace and security. 
 
 Turkish troops were part of a United Nations command aiding South Korea during the Korean War between 1950 and 1953. More than 700 soldiers died in the battles. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:35 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump says the United States is considering halting trade with "any country doing business with North Korea." 
 
 Trump said on Twitter Sunday that the approach was under consideration, "in addition to other options," after North Korea detonated a thermonuclear device in its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. 
 
 Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that he was putting together new sanctions seeking to cut off trade with North Korea. On "Fox News Sunday," Mnuchin described Pyongyang's behavior as "completely unacceptable." 
 
 Trump is meeting with his national security team Sunday afternoon to discuss North Korea. 
 
 The president was asked if he would attack North Korea as he left a church service Sunday. He said: "We'll see." 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:30 a.m. 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken by telephone with Japanese leader Shinzo Abe and urged restraint in responding to North Korea's claim to have set off a hydrogen bomb test. 
 
 Putin, in China for a meeting of leaders of the BRICS economic bloc, called Abe on Sunday. 
 
 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Putin "said the international community could not give in to emotions, should act calmly and deliberately, and stressed that the complex settlement of the nuclear and other problems of the Korean Peninsula can be achieved exclusively through political and diplomatic means." 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:10 a.m. 
 
 North Korea has claimed a "perfect success" for its most powerful nuclear test so far, a further step in the development of weapons capable of striking anywhere in the United States. 
 
 U.S. President Donald Trump, asked if he would attack the North, said, "We'll see." 
 
 The president was meeting later Sunday with his national security team. North Korea's nuclear test was the first since Trump took office in January. 
 
 In a series of tweets, Trump said the latest provocation from the isolated communist country reinforces the danger facing America. He said "talk of appeasement" is pointless because "They only understand one thing!" 
 
 After attending church in Washington, the president made his "We'll see" comment in response to a question from reporters. ||||| In this undated image distributed on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an undisclosed location. North Korea’s state media on Sunday, Sept... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this undated image distributed on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an undisclosed location. North Korea’s state media on Sunday, Sept 3, 2017, said leader Kim Jong Un inspected the loading of a hydrogen bomb into a new intercontinental... (Associated Press) 
 
 TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on the nuclear test North Korea conducted Sunday — its sixth and largest so far (all times local): 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:45 p.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump has reacted to what he's calling "a major Nuclear Test" by North Korea — branding the North "a rogue nation" whose "words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous" to the United States. 
 
 North Korea says it has conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date — and claiming a "perfect success." 
 
 Trump tweets that North Korea "has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success." 
 
 China is by far the North's biggest trading partner. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:25 p.m. 
 
 French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned "in the strongest possible terms" North Korea's sixth nuclear test. 
 
 In a written statement, Macron "calls on the members of the United Nations Security Council to quickly react to this new violation by North Korea of international law." 
 
 He also calls for a "united and clear reaction of the European Union." 
 
 He says the international community "must treat this new provocation with the utmost firmness" to bring North Korea back to the path of dialogue and give up its nuclear and missile programs. 
 
 North Korea's nuclear test Sunday was apparently its most powerful yet. State-controlled media say it was a hydrogen bomb. South Korea's weather agency says the detonation set off a magnitude 5.7 earthquake. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:35 p.m. 
 
 The Russian Foreign Ministry says North Korea's claim to have tested a hydrogen bomb "deserves the strongest condemnation." It's calling for all parties to refrain from escalating tensions further. 
 
 The ministry issued a statement Sunday urging immediate dialogue and negotiations. It says that's the only way settle the Korean Peninsula's problems, "including the nuclear one." 
 
 The ministry says Russia reaffirms its readiness to participate in negotiations, "including in the context of the implementation of the Russian-Chinese road map." Under that proposal, North Korea would suspend nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the U.S. and South Korea suspending their joint military exercises. 
 
 North Korea's nuclear test Sunday was apparently its most powerful yet. The country's state-controlled media say it was a thermonuclear device and a "perfect success." 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:20 p.m. 
 
 A Chinese expert on North Korea says the country conducted its sixth nuclear test Sunday to damage the atmosphere at the summit of the Chinese-led group of large and emerging countries known as BRICS. 
 
 The summit of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is being held Monday and Tuesday in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen. A related business forum opened Sunday with a keynote speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who said nothing of the missile test. 
 
 Cheng Xiaohe (CHUHNG-She'ow-huh) of Renmin University says the latest test means "the Korean Peninsula situation will be at a stage of new crisis." 
 
 He says North Korea has demonstrated that it is not afraid of any pressure, which leaves other parties with few options. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6 p.m. 
 
 China's foreign ministry has condemned North Korea's sixth nuclear test. 
 
 The ministry said in a statement Sunday that the Chinese government has "expressed firm opposition and strong condemnation" of Sunday's detonation. 
 
 China urged North Korea to "stop taking erroneous actions that deteriorate the situation." 
 
 North Korea's nuclear test Sunday was apparently its most powerful yet. The country's state-controlled media say it was a thermonuclear device. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:10 p.m. 
 
 South Korea says it wants to answer North Korea's sixth nuclear test with the strongest measures possible. 
 
 South Korea's National Security Director Chung Eui-yong said Sunday that President Moon Jae-in will seek every available diplomatic measure, including new sanctions from the United Nations Security Council. He says Moon will also discuss with Washington ways to deploy the "strongest strategic assets" the U.S. has to completely isolate Pyongyang. 
 
 The president's office would not comment on it means by "strongest strategic assets." 
 
 The response comes in the wake of the North's confirmation that it has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb of "unprecedented" strength meant to be loaded into an intercontinental ballistic missile. The nuclear test triggered a strong earthquake. 
 
 __ 
 
 4:10 p.m. 
 
 South Korea's presidential office says the security chiefs for Seoul and Washington have spoken following North Korea's sixth nuclear test. 
 
 The office says U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster spoke with his South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, for 20 minutes in an emergency phone call about an hour after the detonation. 
 
 North Korea's nuclear test Sunday was apparently its most powerful yet. State-controlled media say it was a hydrogen bomb. South Korea's weather agency says the apparent detonation set off a magnitude 5.7 earthquake, making the blast five to six times stronger than the North's fifth test in September 2016. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:45 p.m. 
 
 North Korean TV says the country has successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that is meant to be loaded into an intercontinental ballistic missile. 
 
 The TV anchor announced the test's success on Korean Central Television, hours after Seoul and Tokyo detected unusual seismic activity at North Korea's nuclear test site. The announcer says North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un ordered the test. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:30 p.m. 
 
 South Korea's weather agency says an apparent nuclear test by North Korea appears to have been several times stronger than its previous test. 
 
 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. 
 
 North Korea is believed to have conducted a test after a magnitude 5.7 earthquake was detected earlier Sunday. The previous test created seismic waves with a magnitude of 5.0. 
 
 Japan's defense minister says the larger magnitude of the earthquake suggests "capability significantly exceeding the last one." 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:55 p.m. 
 
 North Korea's state broadcaster says an important announcement is coming at 3 p.m. in Pyongyang. That would be 3:30 p.m. in Seoul and Tokyo, and 2:30 a.m. EDT. 
 
 KRT did not give any details of the announcement, but it comes after earthquake activity was detected earlier Sunday in what is presumed to have been a North Korean nuclear test. 
 
 The apparent test came hours after North Korea said its leader had inspected a hydrogen bomb meant for a new intercontinental ballistic missile. The report could not be independently verified. 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:30 p.m. 
 
 South Korea has refuted a news report that there was a second earthquake near North Korea's nuclear test site. 
 
 The Korea Meteorological Administration said Sunday that it had not detected another quake. 
 
 South Korea's Yonhap news service reported a second earthquake had happened eight minutes after the first, citing China's earthquake agency. 
 
 South Korea's military said earlier Sunday that North Korea is believed to have conducted its sixth nuclear test after seismic waves were detected with a magnitude of 5.7. That was revised up from an initial report of 5.6. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:40 p.m. 
 
 South Korea's Yonhap news agency says a second quake was detected near North Korea's nuclear test site. 
 
 The second quake measured 4.6. 
 
 South Korea's military said earlier Sunday that North Korea is believed to have conducted its sixth nuclear test after it picked up seismic waves measuring 5.6. The U.S. Geological Survey called the first quake an explosion with a magnitude 6.3. 
 
 It came hours after North Korea claimed that its leader has inspected a hydrogen bomb meant for a new intercontinental ballistic missile. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:30 p.m. 
 
 South Korea's military says North Korea is believed to have conducted its sixth nuclear test. 
 
 The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul says in a statement South Korea's military has strengthened monitoring and readiness and is mulling a variety of possible responses that could be pushed together with its ally the U.S. 
 
 The apparent test came just hours after North Korea claimed that its leader has inspected the loading of a hydrogen bomb into a new intercontinental ballistic missile. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1:05 p.m. 
 
 South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says a magnitude 5.6 quake in North Korea was artificial and it's analyzing whether the North conducted a nuclear test. 
 
 It says it detected a seismic wave from 12:34 p.m. to 12:36 p.m. around Punggyeri, North Korea. 
 
 The quake came just hours after North Korea claimed that its leader has inspected the loading of a hydrogen bomb into a new intercontinental ballistic missile. 
 
 ___ 
 
 1 p.m. 
 
 South Korea's Yonhap News agency says a magnitude 5.6 quake has occurred in North Korea. 
 
 It isn't immediately clear whether North Korea has conducted its sixth nuclear test. North Korea conducted its fifth test last September. 
 
 The report came just hours after North Korea claimed that its leader has inspected the loading of a hydrogen bomb into a new intercontinental ballistic missile.
– President Trump has reacted to what he's calling "a major Nuclear Test" by North Korea—branding the North "a rogue nation" whose "words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous" to the United States. North Korea says it has conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date—and claims it was a "perfect success," reports the AP. Trump tweets that North Korea "has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success." He adds: "South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!" In other global reaction: French President Emmanuel Macron "calls on the members of the United Nations Security Council to quickly react to this new violation by North Korea of international law." He says the international community "must treat this new provocation with the utmost firmness" to bring North Korea back to the path of dialogue and give up its nuclear and missile programs. The Russian Foreign Ministry is calling for all parties to refrain from escalating tension, and reaffirms it will participate in negotiations, "including in the context of the implementation of the Russian-Chinese road map." Under that, North Korea would suspend nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the US and South Korea suspending joint military exercises. China's foreign ministry said Sunday that the Chinese government has "expressed firm opposition and strong condemnation" of Sunday's detonation and urged North Korea to "stop taking erroneous actions that deteriorate the situation." South Korea says President Moon Jae-in will seek every available diplomatic measure, including new sanctions from the UN Security Council. Moon will also discuss with Washington ways to deploy the "strongest strategic assets" the US has to completely isolate Pyongyang.