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The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) shocked the world in October 2006 with its first nuclear test, announcing itself as a new nuclear-armed state. In the years since, Pyongyang has conducted a series of increasingly powerful underground tests (2006, 2009, 2013, January 2016, September 2016, and September 2017) while also developing long-range ballistic missiles . Each test drew international condemnation and tougher UN sanctions, but North Korea persisted. Regional media – for example, South Korean news – prominently covered these events (see below) as Seoul felt directly threatened. According to seismic data, the first test in 2006 yielded under…