Radio Nederland – US President Barack Obama said the international community should take concerted action against Pyongyang. He said: “North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community. North Korea’s behaviour increases tensions and undermines stability in Northeast Asia.

Japan, South Korea and Australia spoke of an unacceptable provocation. The North Korean nuclear test was also strongly condemned by the European Union and NATO.

The UN Security Council will meet later today to discuss the issue. The Council is expected to condemn the nuclear test, but it remains to be seen whether its 15 members can reach agreement on sanctions against North Korea.

The nuclear device tested by Pyongyang was ten times stronger than the one used in its first nuclear test in 2006, and comparable to the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945.