North Korea created a stir around the world when it said it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. World leaders expressed grave concerns over the ‘rogue nation’s’ fast-evolving nuclear capabilities.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said North Korea's provocations had "reached a new dimension" with the latest nuclear test.
Merkel spoke on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron. Both leaders condemned North Korea and expressed their support for a tightening of EU sanctions against Pyongyang.
European Council President Donald Tusk said the European Union was prepared to ramp up sanctions against North Korea.
US President Donald Trump threatened to sever trade ties with any country doing business with North Korea, which he described as a "rogue nation.”
When asked if he would consider attacking North Korea after the latest nuclear test, Trump replied, "We'll see.”
Earlier, Trump rebuked key ally South Korea for following a policy of "appeasement,” while adding that China was failing in its efforts to successfully rein in North Korea's nuclear program.
South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in said Seoul would push for strong steps to further isolate the North, including new UN sanctions.
The president's office said Moon will also discuss with Washington ways to deploy the "strongest strategic assets" the U.S. has. It did not reveal what it meant by "strongest strategic assets."
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin brought up the issue of the test during their meeting on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in China.Both leaders expressed their deep concerns about security on the Korean Peninsula.
Russia said it was ready to play a role in solving the North Korean crisis.
"The imposed sanctions have not created any positive outcome. On the contrary, the situation leaves something to be desired," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
China, North Korea's sole major ally, strongly condemned the nuclear test and urged Pyongyang to stop its "wrong" actions.
The truth and myths of the Kim dynasty
The Kim family has ruled North Korea for the last seven decades, with state-run propaganda praising Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un as godlike figures. DW looks at the rulers behind the myths.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
A young leader
Kim Il Sung, the first and "eternal" president of North Korea, took power in 1948 with the support of the Soviet Union. The official calendar in North Korea begins with his birth year, 1912, designating it "Juche 1" after the state's Juche ideology. He was 41 when, as shown here, he signed the 1953 armistice that effectively ended the Korean War.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Hero worship
In the years and decades after the war, Pyongyang's propaganda machine worked hard to weave a mythical narrative around Kim Il Sung. His childhood and the time he spent fighting Japanese troops in the 1930s were embellished to portray him as an unrivaled military and political genius.
At the 1980 party congress, Kim announced he would be succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Il.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Ruling to the end
In 1992, Kim Il Sung started writing and publishing his memoirs, entitled "Reminiscences: With the Century." Describing his childhood, the North Korean leader claims that he first joined an anti-Japanese rally at 6 years old and became involved with the independence struggle at 8.
The memoirs remained unfinished at Kim Il Sung's death in 1994.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/JIJI Press
In his father's footsteps
After spending years in the top tiers of the regime, Kim Jong Il took power after his father's death. Kim Jong Il's 16-year rule was marked by famine and economic crisis in an already impoverished country. However, the cult of personality surrounding him and his father, Kim Il Sung, grew even stronger.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/KCNA via Korean News Service
Rising star
Historians outside North Korea believe Kim Jong Il was born in a military camp in eastern Russia, most likely in 1941. However, the leader's official biography claims it happened on the sacred Korean mountain Paektu, exactly 30 years after his father, on April 15, 1942. A North Korean legend says the birth was blessed by a new star and a double rainbow.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Family trouble
Kim Jong Il had three sons and two daughters with three different women. This 1981 photo shows Kim Jong Il sitting besides his son Kim Jong Nam, with his sister-in-law and her two children in the background. Kim Jong Nam was eventually assassinated in 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Grooming a successor
In 2009, Western media reported that Kim Jong Il had picked his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to take over as the head of the regime. The two appeared together at a military parade on 2010, a year before Kim Jong Il passed away.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. Yu
Together
According to Pyongyang, the death of Kim Jong Il in 2011 was marked by a series of mysterious events. State media reported that ice snapped loudly at a lake on the Paektu mountain during a sudden snowstorm, with a glowing message appearing on the rocks.
After Kim Jong Il's death, a 22-meter (72-foot) statue of him was erected next to the one of his father (l.) in Pyongyang.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Mysterious past
Kim Jong Un mostly stayed out of the spotlight before his ascent to power. His exact age is disputed, but he is believed to have been born between 1982 and 1984. He was reportedly educated in Switzerland. In 2013, he surprised the world by meeting with former NBA star Dennis Rodman in Pyongyang.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A new cult
Like the leaders before him, Kim Jong Un is hallowed by the state's totalitarian regime. In 2015, South Korean media reported about a new teacher's manual in the North that claimed Kim Jong Un could drive at the age of 3. In 2017, state media said that a monument to the young leader would be build on Mount Paektu.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Kctv
A Kim with a hydrogen bomb
Altough Kim took power at a younger age and with less of a public profile than his father and grandfather, he has managed to maintain his grip on power. The assassination of his half-brother Kim Jong Nam in 2017 served to cement his reputation abroad as a merciless dictator. The North Korean leader has also vastly expanded the country's nuclear arsenal.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/A. Young-joon
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Japan
Japan called for further sanctions on North Korea. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the test "absolutely unacceptable."
Abe said the North's nuclear and missile programs now posed a more "grave and urgent" threat to his country.
"Whether we can stop North Korea's reckless actions that threaten world peace depends on the cooperation and solidarity of the international community," he added.
Britain
British Prime Minister Theresa May termed the weapon test an "unacceptable further threat" to the international community. She said tougher action was needed, including speeding up the implementation of sanctions.
United Nations
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the hydrogen bomb test was "profoundly destabilizing for regional security" and called on the country's leadership to cease such acts.
"This act is yet another serious breach of the DPRK's international obligations and undermines international non-proliferation and disarmament efforts," Guterres said in a statement, referring to North Korea's official name.
The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on Monday.
