North Korea Says It Conducts Successful Powerful H-Bomb Test

North Korea said it conducted a powerful hydrogen bomb test Wednesday, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would be a huge jump in Pyongyang’s quest to improve its still-limited nuclear arsenal

People watch a news report on North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test, at a railroad station in Seoul, South Korea, on Jan. 6, 2016. Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images

SEOUL, South Korea—Soon after the ground shook around its nuclear testing facility, North Korea trumpeted its first hydrogen bomb test—a self-proclaimed “H-bomb of justice” that would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal.

The announcement on Wednesday, Jan. 6, by the defiant, impoverished country was met with widespread skepticism, as well as strong condemnation by the U.N. Security Council, which said it would begin work on a resolution for new international sanctions.

There was a burst of jubilation and pride in Pyongyang. A North Korean TV anchor said the hydrogen bomb test had been a 'perfect success.'