North Korea Fifth Nuclear Test Update: World Reactions To Kim Jong Un's Provocative Measures

U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday that North Korea will face "serious consequences" over any provocative actions. His comments came as Pyongyang confirmed it successfully conducted a fifth nuclear test in response to international sanctions against the reclusive country following its previous nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in January and February.

Obama, who has returned to the White House after the G20 summit in China and the Asean meeting in Laos, was briefed on board Air Force One by National Security Adviser Susan Rice about the "artificial seismic waves" from a magnitude-5.3 earthquake that were detected near North Korea’s nuclear test site earlier Friday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.

The U.S. president reiterated the country's commitment to the security of its allies in Asia and around the world, Earnest added.

North Korea's state TV announced Friday that the country conducted a "nuclear warhead explosion test" to elevate its nuclear arsenal. Pyongyang is "now capable of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets.” It also said that there was no nuclear leak from the test.

United Nations' atomic agency said that North Korea's latest nuclear test is "deeply troubling." The U.N. imposed harsh sanctions against Pyongyang after its fourth nuclear test and a series of missile launches this year.

China, North Korea's only major diplomatic ally, said it “resolutely opposed to North Korea’s latest nuclear test and strongly urges North Korea to stop taking any actions that will worsen the situation."

The foreign ministry said in a statement that Beijing would stick to its aim of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula and “uphold the six-party talks process to resolve the issue."

France also condemned the nuclear test, which is believed to be the biggest-ever -- measuring 10 kilotonnes.

"France vigorously condemns the new nuclear test that was conducted last night by North Korea and calls the United Nations' Security Council to take up this violation of its resolutions," the French presidency said in a statement, according to Reuters.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye condemned Pyongyang's nuclear test, saying that it showed the country’s leader Kim Jong Un was guilty of “maniacal recklessness” in completely ignoring the world’s call for bringing an end to his nuclear tests.

Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said the advances made by the Pyongyang regime with nuclear tests and mobile ballistic missile technology, posed a grave threat to Japan.

"We can't deny the possibility that North Korea is miniaturizing a device to build a warhead," Inada said at a press briefing in Tokyo.