January 2016 North Korean nuclear test

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called on his country to expand production of "nuclear materials for weapons" and create more powerful weapons, AFP reported.

Kim's latest threat came ahead of the planned arrival of a US Navy strike group in South Korea.

President Joe Biden's special envoy for North Korea said Friday the United States is "preparing for all contingencies" in close coordination with its South Korean and Japanese allies as it monitors North Korean arrangements for a possible nuclear test explosion that outside officials say could be imminent.

Japan Times - North Korea announced Saturday that it had suspended nuclear and longer-range missile tests and shut down its main nuclear test site as the sanctions-hit country seeks to shift its focus to shoring up its moribund economy, state media said, less than a week ahead of a key inter-Korean summit.

North Korea says it has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb on Sunday. It is its sixth long-range missile test, marking a dramatic escalation of the the regime’s stand-off with the United States and its allies.

North Korea declared itself a thermonuclear power on Sept. 3, after carrying out a sixth nuclear test more powerful than any it has previously detonated, presenting President Donald Trump with a potent challenge.
 
The North has tested a hydrogen bomb with "perfect success", a jubilant newsreader announced on state television, adding the device could be mounted on a missile.

The United States deployed a B-52 bomber on a low-level flight over its ally South Korea on Jan. 10, in a show of force following North Korea's nuclear test last week. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un maintained that Jan. 6's test was of a hydrogen bomb and said it was a self-defensive step against a U.S. threat of nuclear war. 

North Korea announced on Wednesday that it had successfully tested a miniaturised hydrogen bomb.

If the information is confirmed, this would be the fourth nuclear test conducted by North Korea since 2006 and the first time a hydrogen bomb is tested by Pyongyang.

North Korea says it has successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test, which if confirmed, would be its fourth nuclear test and a significant advancement for its military ambitions.

A hydrogen bomb is more powerful than plutonium weapons, which is what North Korea used in its three previous underground nuclear tests.

North Korea said it successfully tested a miniaturised hydrogen nuclear device on Jan. 6, claiming a significant advance in the isolated state's strike capability and setting off alarm bells in Japan and South Korea.

The test, the fourth time North Korea has exploded a nuclear device, was ordered by young leader Kim Jong Un, state media said. 

Nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan and the United States met in Seoul on May 27, seeking a way forward to revive long-stalled, six-party talks with North Korea on its nuclear weapons programme.