BREAKING, MIDNIGHT EST, North Korea conducts 'nuclear test' - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English

North Korea conducts 'nuclear test' South Korea says there has been a nuclear test in the North, after 4.9 magnitude tremor was registered.

North Korea has conducted a nuclear test, South Korea's defence ministry says, after seismic activity measuring 4.9 magnitude was registered by the US Geological Survey.

The epicentre of the seismic activity on Tuesday was close to the North's known nuclear test site.

"We've been informed by the South Koreans that there's been a [North Korean] nuclear test," a UN Security Council diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.<

">The apparent nuclear test on Tuesday had an explosive yield of at least 10 kilotons, signalling "enormous destructive power", South Korea's defence ministry said citing seismic data.

"We suspect the explosive yield was around 10 kilotons [of TNT] or greater... which indicates enormous destructive power," ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters.

FULL ARTICLE HERE: North Korea conducts 'nuclear test' - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English