SEOUL: South Korea's presidential office said on Friday US President Barack Obama had indicated he would take every action under a mutual defence treaty with the South, including providing its nuclear umbrella, to protect Seoul from any North Korean threat.

Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye talked by telephone, South Korea's Blue House said, after a seismic event was recorded in North Korea that Seoul and Tokyo described as a nuclear test.

South Korea's presidential office said the two leaders agreed to use every available means to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme, including adopting a new UN Security Council resolution.

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China's Xinhua calls for restraint after North Korea nuclear test

BEIJING: All parties in the international community should exercise restraint following North Korea's latest nuclear test as it is in nobody's interest for there to be chaos or war on the Korean peninsula, China's official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

North Korea's nuclear test is "not wise", but South Korea's decision to deploy an advanced US anti-missile system has also seriously damaged regional strategic balance, Xinhua said in a commentary, in China's first official reaction to the test.

US to work with Japan, others to pressure North Korea

TOKYO: US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel said on Friday he was committed to working closely with Japan, China, Russia and South Korea to put pressure on North Korea after a fifth nuclear test by the reclusive country.

"The fact is, there is an accelerated pattern of very serious provocation that violates international law and threatens regional stability," Russel told reporters before meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

South Korea finmin says must prepare to respond to geopolitical tensions

SEOUL: South Korea will prepare against potential spikes in financial market volatility stemming from North Korea's suspected fifth nuclear test, the finance minister said in remarks at an emergency meeting to discuss the geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula.