North Korea today conducted a ’successful’ hydrogen bomb test, Pyongyang has confirmed

North Korea today conducted a ’successful’ hydrogen bomb test, Pyongyang has confirmed

The thermonuclear weapon triggered a massive 5.1 magnitude earthquake when it exploded at 10am local time on Wednesday

It comes months after leader Kim Jong-Un suggested his country had developed such a weapon, which is lighter yet even more powerful than other nuclear bombs

’The republic’s first hydrogen bomb test has been successfully performed at 10:00 am on January 6, 2016, based on the strategic determination of the Workers’ Party,’ a state television news reader announced five-and-a-half hours after the blast

The successful detonation marks a major step in North Korea’s nuclear development and is bound to cause considerable anxiety to neighbouring countries

Last month, Kim Jong-Un had suggested Pyongyang had already developed a hydrogen bomb - although the claim was greeted with scepticism by international experts

A hydrogen, or thermonuclear device, uses fusion in a chain reaction that results in a far more powerful explosion

North Korea has hinted before at the possession of ’stronger, more powerful’ weapons, but Kim’s remarks were believed to be the first direct reference to an H-bomb

Today is the first time the existence of such a weapon has been confirmed

Prior to being confirmed, Chinese and South Korean officials both said there were early indications the tremor was man-made, with South Korea’s Met Agency saying it was ’highly likely’ the earthquake was caused by nuclear testing

The country’s main news agency Yonhap claims Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se has called an emergency meeting in the wake of the movement

The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the quake was in the north east of the country

According to Channel News Asia, the China Earthquake Network Centre gave the depth of the quake as zero kilometres, noting it was registered at almost precisely 9.30am Beijing time

Reported to have taken place some 30 miles north west of Kilju city, that would place it next to the Punggye-ri - North Korea’s only nuclear test site

Punggye-ri is located in a mountainous region of the North Hamgyong Province

A 2013 registered a 5.1 magnitude tremor. North Korean officials said that was a successful nuclear detonation