Global leaders condemn North Korea's nuclear test.
Russia advocated for "maintaining calm and refraining from any actions that could lead to a further escalation of tensions," while China urged North Korea to stop its "wrong" actions and stated it would fully implement UN resolutions against the country; the UK Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, called the nuclear test "reckless" and a "provocation," and the French president called for action from the UN Security Council.
LONDON (Reuters) North Korea's largest-ever nuclear test was condemned around the world on Sunday, with US President Donald Trump saying that "appeasement" wouldn't work since authorities in Pyongyang "only understand one thing."
The explosion of what North Korea claimed was an advanced hydrogen bomb occurred days after the country fired a missile at Japan and hours after Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by phone about the "escalating" nuclear crisis.
Trump, who stated after last week's missile launch that talking to Pyongyang "is not the answer," tweeted that Sunday's test showed that "North Korea's words and actions remain highly hostile and dangerous to the United States."
China tried but failed to resolve the problem, he said, while also asserting that South Korea's "appeasement talks" wouldn't work, since "they (the North Koreans) only understand one thing!"
Russia adopted a more cautious tone.
"In the current circumstances, it is absolutely essential to remain calm and refrain from any actions that could lead to a further escalation of tensions," said the Russian Foreign Ministry, adding that North Korea risked "serious consequences."
Moscow stated that negotiations are the only way to resolve the crisis. Later on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in China.
China urged North Korea to stop its "wrong" actions and stated that it would fully implement United Nations resolutions against the country.
The UK Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, called the nuclear test "reckless" and a "provocation".
"They appear to be moving closer to the hydrogen bomb, which, if installed on a successful missile, would undoubtedly present a new order of threat," he told Sky News, adding that there are no palatable military solutions.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for action from the United Nations Security Council.
"The international community must address this new provocation with the utmost firmness, to bring North Korea back unconditionally to the path of dialogue and to proceed with the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of its nuclear and ballistic missile program," he said in a statement.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has no access to North Korea, called the nuclear test, Pyongyang's sixth since 2006, "an extremely regrettable act" that "completely disregarded repeated demands from the international community."