South Korea conducts missile drill after N Korea nuclear test rattles world

South Korea has launched a ballistic missile exercise in response to Pyongyang's provocative detonation of what it claimed was a miniaturised hydrogen bomb, state news agency Yonhap reported.

The South's military conducted a live-fire exercise late on Sunday simulating an attack on the North's nuclear site, hitting "designated targets in the East Sea", the report added, quoting the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"The training came in response to the North's sixth nuclear test... And involved the country's Hyunmoo ballistic missile and the F-15K fighter jets," it said.

The South's military said the range to the simulated targets were equivalent to the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site in its northeastern province.

US President Donald Trump on Monday criticised Seoul. South Korea, Trump said, "is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!"
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N Korea claims it has 'advanced hydrogen bomb' as Trump, Abe discuss crisis

North Korea said on Sunday it has developed an advanced hydrogen bomb that possesses “great destructive power” as U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked by phone about the “escalating” nuclear crisis.

The report by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency comes amid heightened regional tension following Pyongyang’s two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) in July that potentially could fly about 10,000 km (6,200 miles), putting many parts of the mainland United States within range.

Under third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has been pursuing a nuclear device small and light enough to fit on a long-range ballistic missile, without affecting its range and making it capable of surviving re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

North Korea, which carries out its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions, “recently succeeded” in making a more advanced hydrogen bomb that will be loaded on to an ICBM, KCNA said.
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North Korea calls Trump's warning 'nonsense', reveals plan to hit Guam

North Korea dismissed on Thursday warnings by U.S. President Donald Trump that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States as a "load of nonsense", and outlined detailed plans for a missile strike near the Pacific territory of Guam.

North Korea's apparently rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland has fuelled tensions that erupted into a war of words between Washington and Pyongyang this week, unnerving regional powers and global investors.

Trump's unexpected remarks prompted North Korea to say on Thursday it was finalising plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land 30-40 km (18-25 miles) from Guam, more than 3,000 km (2,000 miles) to the south.

Guam is home to about 163,000 people and a U.S. military base that includes a submarine squadron, an air base, and a Coast Guard group.

"Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," a report by the North's state-run KCNA news agency said of Trump.

The army will complete its plans in mid-August, ready for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's order, KCNA reported, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army.

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