News Obiaks News

In the aftermath of North Korea's recent Nuclear test, leaders across the world have been united in Condemning the act. 

U.S. President Donald Trump said "North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success."

President Trump further suggested that the U.S. is seriously considering ceasing too do business with any country that continues to trade with North Korea.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron called for tougher EU sanctions against North Korea, saying Pyongyang has "reached a new dimension of provocation" with its latest nuclear test.

"The chancellor and the president are in agreement that North Korea has trampled on international law and that the international community must, therefore, react with determination against this new escalation," Merkel's office said in a statement after she spoke on the phone with Macron.

Separately, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Pyongyang's latest test "means that we have to find a level-headed but clear answer".

"We will discuss this reaction with our partners in the EU. I am sure that the UN Security Council will also take necessary measures in a decisive manner," he said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Sunday to "appropriately deal with" the latest nuclear test by North Korea, state news agency Xinhua said. 

"The two leaders agreed to stick to the goal of denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula and keep close communication and coordination to deal with the new situation," Xinhua said in a brief dispatch.

Boris Johnson, UK's foreign minister, said North Korea's latest nuclear test could represent a new order of threat.

"There's no question that this is another provocation, it's reckless," he told Sky News broadcaster.

"They seem to be moving closer towards a hydrogen bomb which, if fitted to a successful missile, would unquestionably present a new order of threat."

Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), called North Korea's sixth nuclear test since 2006 "an extremely regrettable act".

The new test "is in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the international community", said Amano.

The IAEA is continuing to closely follow developments in North Korea's nuclear programme "which is a matter of grave concern", he said.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary-general, called on North Korea in a statement to "immediately cease all existing nuclear and ballistic missile activities in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, and re-engage in dialogue with the international community".

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in vowed to push for the most powerful sanctions yet at the UN Security Council against North Korea to completely isolate it.

Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, said Pyongyang's "nuclear and missile development programmes pose a new level of a grave and immediate threat" and "seriously undermines the peace and security of the region".

China's foreign ministry urged North Korea in a statement broadcast by state-run CCTV to "stop taking erroneous actions that deteriorate the situation".

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement immediate dialogue and negotiations were the only way to settle the Korean Peninsula's problems, "including the nuclear one".

The ministry said Russia reaffirmed its readiness to participate in negotiations, "including in the context of the implementation of the Russian-Chinese road map".

Under that proposal, North Korea would suspend nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the United States and South Korea suspending their joint military exercises.