DPRK announces success of nuclear warhead test

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Friday that it successfully conducted a nuclear warhead explosion test, according to state-run television.

This marks Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test, which came eight months after the last one.

The test aimed to judge the power of a nuclear warhead newly made by scientists and technicians, said a statement issued by the DPRK Nuclear Weapons Institute.

The move runs counter to UN resolutions and the efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

The nuclear test was carried out on the 68th anniversary of the founding of the country.

Earlier in the day, the China Earthquake Network Center said a 5.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the DPRK at 0030 GMT at a depth of 0.0 km.

Meanwhile, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center said a 5.0-magnitude earthquake was detected in the DPRK and later revised the magnitude to 5.3. The US Geological Survey saw the tremor as a 5.3-magnitude quake.