Teacher:In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
Teacher: Now, understand the problem? Solve this instance: In this undated image made from video distributed Sept. 6, 2016, by North Korean broadcaster KRT, a missile is launched during a drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (AP) 
  
 North Korea has taken a key step toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the mainland United States, analysts said Friday after Kim Jong Un ordered yet another nuclear test. 
  
 The test, which Pyongyang said was a “nuclear warhead explosion,” appeared to be North Korea’s biggest yet. 
  
 “It’s a clear indication of progress towards developing a miniaturized nuclear warhead for North Korea’s ballistic missiles,” said Alison Evans, a North Korea analyst at IHS Markit, a consultancy. 
  
 “We estimate that North Korea has an inventory of 15 or 20 nuclear weapons and that they could be put on a truck or a short-range missile. But what North Korea is aiming for is to put them on an intercontinental ballistic missile,” she said. 
  
 North Korea was officially founded 68 years ago Friday — the day of the nuclear test — with opposition to the United States as its raison d’etre. Its propaganda lauds the protection the Kim family has provided from the “hostile” Americans. 
  
 The Washington Post's Anna Fifield reports on North Korea's fifth nuclear test and what it means for the region and one of Kim Jong Un’s few allies, China. (Jason Aldag,Anna Fifield/The Washington Post) 
  
 But the reclusive country has dramatically accelerated its nuclear and missile programs since Kim Jong Un became North Korea’s third-generation leader almost five years ago, conducting three of its five nuclear tests in that time. 
  
 [ North Korea conducts fifth nuclear test, claims it has made warheads with ‘higher strike power’ ] 
  
 Since early 2014, Pyongyang has also noticeably stepped up its missile testing, launching a variety of vehicles, including some long-range missiles. Last month, it successfully launched a ballistic missile from a submarine. 
  
 On Monday, North Korea launched three extended-range Scud missiles in quick succession, apparently to try to outsmart U.S. and Japanese missile-defense systems in the region. 
  
 Then, on Friday, it said it had “standardized” nuclear warheads so that it could produce “a variety of smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power.” 
  
 The test showed that North Korea is “ready to retaliate against the enemies” and has “practical countermeasures to the racket of threat and sanctions” against Pyongyang, the official Korean Central News Agency said. 
  
 It is impossible to verify North Korea’s claim to have mastered the technology to fit warheads to missiles, as that proof would come only with a test. And Pyongyang does have a habit of exaggerating its abilities, with its claim to have tested a hydrogen bomb in January immediately dismissed as fanciful. 
  
 But Kim’s regime has clearly been working toward being able to deliver a nuclear-tipped missile on target. 
  
 In March, state media announced that North Korean scientists had miniaturized a nuclear warhead, and photos were published of Kim examining what was described as a miniaturized weapon — a mirrored device that looked like a disco ball. 
  
 While there is still considerable skepticism that North Korea has been able to make such a breakthrough, there is also an increasing assumption among military officials in South Korea and the United States that it’s only a matter of time until North Korea gets there. 
  
 [These North Korean missile launches are adding up to something very troubling] 
  
 “Twenty years ago, the idea of North Korea being able to deliver a nuclear warhead to the U.S. seemed far-fetched,” said Sharon Squassoni, director of the proliferation prevention program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “They’re not there yet, but with each round of tests, they inch a little bit closer.” 
  
 But the countries in North Korea’s neighborhood are already at risk, Squassoni said. “This nuclear material could be put on a boat or an airplane or even a wheelbarrow and delivered to North Korea’s neighbors.” 
  
 Indeed, the way North Korea described its capabilities — linking them to an artillery unit — suggests that it is focused closer to home, said Joshua Pollack, editor of the Nonproliferation Review. 
  
 “They described this as a step that was necessary for them to mass-produce warheads for the theater, underscoring that regional powers ought to be taking this seriously,” he said. 
  
 North Korea has been hinting of more provocations to come. In an angry statement released after the U.N. Security Council condemned its submarine-launched ballistic missile test late last month, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Pyongyang warned of “deadly strikes to be made by the enraged people” of North Korea. 
  
 “Now that the U.S. posed threats to the dignity and the right to existence of the DPRK, defying its serious warning, it will continue to take a series of eventful action steps as a full-fledged military power,” the spokesman said, using the official abbreviation for North Korea. 
  
 While it is easy to dismiss North Korea’s florid rhetoric as exaggeration, analysts carefully parse such statements for clues as to what Pyongyang might do next and have found that they sometimes bear out. 
  
 [Everything you need to know about the North Korean nuclear test] 
  
 Dealing with North Korea will be a major challenge for the next U.S. administration, regardless of who wins the presidency. The Obama administration has generally followed a policy of “strategic patience,” trying to wait out North Korea, which, under Kim, has shown very little interest in negotiating away its nuclear program. 
  
 The international community should try to stymie North Korea’s progress before it reaches its goal, Squassoni said. “It’s still a little way off in the future until that capacity emerges, but we should not wait until this is a real threat before we try to deal with it.” 
  
 One immediate effect of North Korea’s latest nuclear test is that it could bolster calls for South Korea to have its own nuclear weapons, said Euan Graham, a security expert at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney who once served as a British diplomat in Pyongyang. 
  
 As North Korea has made advances in its nuclear weapons technology, a small but growing number of prominent politicians and academics have been openly advocating for South Korea to have nuclear weapons, too. 
  
 “Some people in South Korea might question if the U.S.’s nuclear deterrence is enough,” Graham said, “and wonder if they should have weapons, too, or if they should be pushing for the U.S. to bring nuclear weapons back to South Korea.” 
  
 That idea was gaining traction on social media Friday. 
  
 “I strongly support South Korea’s nuke armament,” one commenter said in a forum on the Naver Internet portal, according to the Yonhap News Agency. “As I should know how to protect myself, we should defend our own country. An independent defense is the answer.” 
  
 Read more 
  
 North Korea fires 3 missiles as G-20 continues in China 
  
 North Korea hails ‘greatest success’ of submarine-launched ballistic missile 
  
 North Korean missile lands perilously close to Japan 
  
 Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world ||||| US President Barack Obama recently attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Vientiane, Laos (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb) 
  
 Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama vowed Friday to push for new international sanctions in retaliation for the "grave threat" posed by North Korea's latest nuclear test. 
  
 The US leader consulted by telephone with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following news of the reclusive country's fifth and most powerful test. 
  
 "We agreed to work with the UN Security Council, our other Six-Party partners, and the international community to vigorously implement existing measures imposed in previous resolutions, and to take additional significant steps, including new sanctions," Obama said in a statement. 
  
 "The United States condemns North Korea's September 9 nuclear test in the strongest possible terms as a grave threat to regional security and to international peace and stability," he said. 
  
 Obama, who has pleaded since first taking office in 2009 for a world without nuclear weapons, denounced North Korea's actions as "unlawful and dangerous." 
  
 "To be clear, the United States does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state," the president declared. 
  
 "As Commander in Chief, I have a responsibility to safeguard the American people and ensure that the United States is leading the international community in responding to this threat and North Korea's other provocations with commensurate resolve and condemnation," Obama said. 
  
 North Korea has been hit by five sets of UN sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006. 
  
 The Security Council will meet Friday at 3 pm (1900 GMT) at the request of the United States and Japan to discuss Pyongyang's latest test. 
  
 Obama reaffirmed, as he has done repeatedly following North Korean ballistic missile launches, the US commitment to "take necessary steps to defend our allies in the region," namely South Korea and Japan. 
  
 North Korea claimed Friday it had successfully tested a nuclear warhead that could be mounted on a missile, drawing condemnation from South Korea's government over the "maniacal recklessness" of young ruler Kim Jong-Un. 
  
 At 10 kilotons the blast approached the might of the bomb that devastated Hiroshima in 1945, experts in Seoul said. ||||| Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE North Korea says it has successfully conducted a nuclear explosion test. The country says the test will lead to it developing improved nuclear weapons. Nations around the world quickly condemned the test. (Sept. 9) AP 
  
 South Koreans watch a television news broadcast at a train station in Seoul on Sept. 9, 2016 . The broadcast shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (Photo: EPA) 
  
 TOKYO — North Korea claimed Friday that it successfully conducted a "higher level" test of a nuclear weapon, its second in eight months and its fifth since 2006. The announcement drew immediate condemnation from the United States, South Korea, China and Japan. 
  
 The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the matter Friday, and President Obama warned North Korea that the United States would use "the full spectrum of U.S. defense capabilities" to defend its allies. 
  
 “To be clear, the United States does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state,” Obama said. 
  
 The North Korean government in the capital of Pyongyang said the test was of a nuclear warhead designed to be mounted on ballistic rockets and demonstrated that it was prepared to hit back at its enemies including the United States if provoked. North Korea’s state TV said the test was "examined and confirmed." The announcement followed seismic activity near the country's nuclear site picked up by foreign monitors. 
  
 The test violates United Nations resolutions and will further strain North Korea's already tense relations with the U.S. and other countries in the region. 
  
 China, an ally and economic lifeline for North Korea, was among the countries that swiftly reprimanded North Korea. 
  
 The White House said Obama, who was en route home from a summit in Laos, spoke by phone with South Korean President Park Geun Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Obama said the allies agreed to work with the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia to impose new sanctions on North Korea. The U.S. will also deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to South Korea, Obama said. 
  
 Park called the detonation an act of “fanatic recklessness.” 
  
 Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike told reporters the city was testing water samples and monitoring radiation levels to gauge any impact from the test in Japan. 
  
 Previous U.N. resolutions have forbidden North Korea from developing nuclear weapons or ballistic missile technology but have had little effect. Seoul estimated the test may be the North’s biggest explosive yield yet. 
  
 "We are monitoring and continuing to assess the situation in close coordination with our regional partners," Ned Price, a spokesperson for the National Security Council in Washington, said in a prepared statement. 
  
 Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. expects its partners in the six party talks “to take necessary steps to ensure the (North Korean) regime understands there are consequences to its unlawful and dangerous actions.” 
  
 Earlier, South Korea’s military detected a magnitude-5 earthquake near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in northeastern North Korea. It described that quake as "artificial." 
  
 The test coincides with the 68th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as North Korea is known officially. In the past, the reclusive nation has marked major anniversaries with weapons tests or other provocative actions. 
  
 South Korean news agency Yonhap reported the test is believed to have taken place in the same location where North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January. 
  
 Pyongyang also conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013. 
  
 While North Korea’s nuclear tests are “unwanted,” they are no longer destabilizing, said Robert E. Kelly, professor of political science at South Korea’s Pusan National University. “We've known for awhile that North Korea has functional nuclear weapons," he said. 
  
 "The real issues are can they improve these weapons from basic atomic bombs to hydrogen weapons? And can they marry them to a missile so that they can deliver them? The answer on both counts right now is probably 'No,' ” Kelly said in email exchange Friday. 
  
 About 28,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, which technically remains at war with its neighbor to the north. 
  
 In January, North Korea conducted what it said was a test of a much more powerful hydrogen bomb, although the U.S. government disputed that claim. Since then the North has conducted several tests of medium- and long-range missiles as part of its push for a nuclear-armed missile that could one day reach the U.S. mainland. 
  
 Earlier this week, North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan in an apparent signal of its displeasure with Group of 20 summit talks being held in Hangzhou, China. 
  
 Contributing: Oren Dorell in Washington, D.C. 
  
  
  
  
  
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2cbKDiT |||||
Student:
North Korea may not be able to launch a nuclear attack on the US, but the Washington Post reports it's getting closer and closer to having that ability, as evidenced by Friday's nuclear test. “It’s a clear indication of progress towards developing a miniaturized nuclear warhead for North Korea’s ballistic missiles,” analyst Alison Evans says. She says North Korea probably has 15 or 20 nuclear weapons at this point, but so far it's only able to put them on trucks or short-range missiles. On Friday, North Korea claimed to have "standardized" nuclear warheads to make them "smaller, lighter" with "higher strike power." It's impossible to confirm whether North Korea, known for exaggerating its abilities, actually has the technology to create nuclear ballistic missiles. But even if it doesn't, US military officials now believe it's only a matter of time. President Obama called for new international sanctions against North Korea after its most recent nuclear test, which he called a "grave threat," AFP reports. According to USA Today, the UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Friday. But previous UN resolutions haven't done much to slow down North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, both of which have accelerated under Kim Jong Un.