Nuclear program of North Korea

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. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared on Dec. 10 to claim the country has developed a hydrogen bomb, a step up from the less powerful atomic bomb, but outside experts were sceptical. 

A missile test announced by Iran over the weekend was an apparent violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution and Washington will raise it at the United Nations, the U.S. State Department said on Oct. 13. 

Iran said it tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile on Oct. 11, signaling an apparent advance in Iranian attempts to improve the accuracy of its missile arsenal. 

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.

North Korea said May 20 it has the technology to make nuclear missile warheads, less than two weeks after announcing it had launched a ballistic missile from a submarine.

North Korea's test-firing of a ballistic missile from a submarine was "very serious and concerning", South Korea said on May 11, with one defence official suggesting Pyongyang could have a fully operational platform in two or three years.

North Korea carried out a test launch of a new ballistic missile from a submarine. The North Korean government considers its new weapon a “Strategic weapon on a global scale”.

The ballistic missile was designed and built “after the personal initiative by Supreme Commander of the Korean People, Kim Jong-un” added the state-run news network KCNA.

North Korea has fired two surface-to-air missiles off its west coast, South Korea said on April 9, with the latest in a string of short-range firings by the North coming shortly before the U.S. defense secretary arrived in the region.