North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on Friday, setting off a blast that was more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile.
Its most powerful explosion to date follows a test in January that prompted the UN Security Council to impose tightened sanctions that increased North Korea's isolation but failed to prevent it from accelerating weapons development.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, in Laos after a summit of Asian leaders ended there on Thursday, said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was showing "maniacal recklessness" in completely ignoring the world's call to abandon his pursuit of nuclear weapons.
US President Barack Obama, aboard Air Force One on his way home from Laos, said the test would be met with "serious consequences" and held talks with Park and with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the White House said.
Its most powerful explosion to date follows a test in January that prompted the UN Security Council to impose tightened sanctions that increased North Korea's isolation but failed to prevent it from accelerating weapons development.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, in Laos after a summit of Asian leaders ended there on Thursday, said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was showing "maniacal recklessness" in completely ignoring the world's call to abandon his pursuit of nuclear weapons.
US President Barack Obama, aboard Air Force One on his way home from Laos, said the test would be met with "serious consequences" and held talks with Park and with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the White House said.
