Beijing stated its "resolute opposition" on Wednesday after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced earlier in the day that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test.

Countries and international organizations said they were still examining the test's details and impact, since some key facts were believed missing in the official statement released through the Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang.

The nuclear test, the fourth by the DPRK, was conducted at a site close to the Chinese border. Previously, the DPRK conducted three nuclear tests－in 2006, 2009 and 2013－drawing fierce international objections and sanctions.

On Wednesday morning, the China Earthquake Network Center said a magnitude-4.9 quake jolted the DPRK at 9:30 am Beijing time "at a depth of 0 km".

Then the state-run Korean Central News Agency said DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un had ordered the hydrogen bomb test on Dec 15 and signed the final order on Sunday. The test was a "total success" and was conducted "in a safe and perfect manner", it said.

In response, Beijing issued a rare written statement in the afternoon, in which the Foreign Ministry said: "We strongly urge the DPRK to honor its denuclearization pledges and stop taking any action that will deteriorate the situation."

China's Ministry of Environmental Protection is "monitoring the data and will conduct an all-out radiation emergency test in the border area", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

By 1 pm, local readings of gamma radiation had been normal, the environmental ministry said.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that "China firmly champions the international nuclear nonproliferation system".

The United Nations Security Council has planned an emergency meeting on Wednesday in New York. US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said Washington will respond appropriately to any "provocations".

Russia's Foreign Ministry said it hadn't been confirmed that the DPRK had carried out an actual nuclear test, and that all sides should "preserve maximum restraint", AFP reported.

Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye said on Wednesday that Seoul "should closely cooperate with the international community", ROK's Yonhap news agency reported.

Yu Meihua, director of the Center for Korean Peninsula Peace Studies of the China Reform Forum, said the United States and its allies Japan and the ROK will take Pyongyang's test as an excuse to "initiate the next arms race in the region" by having more military cooperation and deployment in the region.

Yu said fresh UN sanctions might be imposed and "DPRK's pace of economic cooperation with foreign countries will possibly see a slowdown".

Zhang Liangui, an expert of Korean studies at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said the nuclear test was "not a surprise", as Pyongyang has renewed commitment to its nuclear plans in recent years.
Across border, residents tell of strong tremor, loud bang

What the Democratic People's Republic of Korea claimed was a "successful hydrogen bomb test" brought a jolt on Wednesday morning to residents of Hunchun, a border city in Jilin province that is near the test site.

A woman who manages a farm equipment station in Hunchun's Fusong township and who wished to be identified only as Lei told China Daily that she felt a tremor around 9:30 am when she was in her office.

A desk, chair and flowerpot on the windowsill shook, Lei said, adding that the jolt lasted about three seconds, stopped for two seconds and then restarted for another three seconds.

Nie Qiming, a resort owner, said he did not feel a strong tremor but heard a big bang.

The city center of Hunchun is about 14 kilometers from the Shatuozi border port and 45 km from the Quanhe port.

Global Times, a Beijing-based newspaper, quoted an office worker surnamed Ren as saying that he and his colleagues ran out of their office building after a strong shake.

A restaurant owner surnamed Wan told the newspaper that the jolt was very strong and that many people almost fell over. (kes)(+)

DPRK missile and nuclear timeline

・ December 1985

Pyongyang joins Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

・ February 1993

International Atomic Energy Agency demands to inspect suspected nuclear waste sites

・ June 1994

Withdraws from IAEA

・ August 1998

Launches three-stage rocket Taepodong 1 over Japan

・ January 2003

Withdraws from non-proliferation treaty

・ February 2005

Announces that country has produced nuclear weapons

・ July 2006

Test-fires ballistic missiles

・ Oct 9, 2006

Conducts first underground nuclear test

・ February 2007

Agrees to scrap nuclear facilities in return for aid

・ April 2009

Launches three-stage Unha 2 rocket

・ May 25, 2009

Conducts second underground nuclear test

・ November 2010

Reveals uranium enrichment facility to foreign experts

・ December 2012

Successfully launches Unha 3, including placement of satellite into orbit

・ Feb 12, 2013

Conducts third underground nuclear test

・ September 2015

Restarts Yongbyon reactor

・ Jan 6, 2016

Pyongyang says it has tested a hydrogen bomb

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