Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio has criticized Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama for North Korea's experimentation with a hydrogen bomb.

On Wednesday morning, North Korea said it conducted a hydrogen nuclear device test. The test triggered a 5.1 magnitude earthquake near a known North Korean nuclear test site.

Many world leaders have denounced North Korea for conducting the underground nuclear test. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, referring to the event as "deeply troubling," told reporters the act violates numerous UN Security Council resolutions.

"It is also a grave contravention of the international norm against nuclear testing," said the UN secretary general, adding, "This act is profoundly destabilizing for regional security and seriously undermines international non-proliferation efforts. I condemn it unequivocally."

A White House spokesman for its National Security Council said the U.S. could not immediately confirm the test and it could take several weeks to determine it.

Rubio, however, said he has been warning about the potential dangers by North Korea and its leader Kim Jung-un. Rubio, who serves on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said the hydrogen bomb test is another instance of Obama and Clinton's foreign policy.

"I have been warning throughout this campaign that North Korea is run by a lunatic who has been expanding his nuclear arsenal while President Obama has stood idly by. If this test is confirmed, it will be just the latest example of the failed Obama-Clinton foreign policy," said Rubio in a statement.

"Our enemies around the world are taking advantage of Obama's weakness," added Rubio. "We need new leadership that will stand up to people like Kim Jong-un and ensure our country has the capabilities necessary to keep America safe."

Clinton also issued a statement, strongly condemning the nuclear test.

"If verified, this is a provocative and dangerous act, and North Korea must have no doubt that we will take whatever steps are necessary to defend ourselves and our treaty allies, South Korea and Japan. North Korea's goal is to blackmail the world into easing the pressure on its rogue regime. We can't give in to or in any way encourage this kind of bullying. Instead, we should increase pressure and send Pyongyang an unmistakable message that its nuclear brinksmanship won't succeed."

Clinton said the U.S., partners, including the Security Council, have to immediately impose additional sanctions against North Korea. She also said the Chinese government has to be more assertive on North Korea.

She later added, "And threats like this are yet another reminder of what's at stake in this election. We cannot afford reckless, imprudent publicity stunts that risk war. We need a Commander-in-Chief with the experience and judgement to deal with a dangerous North Korea on Day One."

Meanwhile, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, who serves in the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, said North Korea's test challenges the security of the Asia-Pacific region and, as Ban mentioned, violates Security Council resolutions.

"With such adversarial, reckless behavior, North Korea yet again makes clear its disinterest in acting responsibly and further isolates itself from the international community. The United States remains committed to helping preserve regional stability and protecting our allies in the Asia-Pacific. Claims of such provocative exercises are unacceptable and counterproductive to the ultimate goal of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula," said Castro in a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, adding that he's eager to work on legislation to stop North Korea's nuclear program.

In a document signed by the North Korean leader, he wrote he wants the world to "look up to our strong nuclear country and labor party by opening the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb!"

The nuclear test led to an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Wednesday. If confirmed, it would be North Korea's fourth nuclear test since 2006.

The UN is monitoring the situation in coordination with relevant groups, such as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). In a statement from Vienna, Lassina Zerbo, CTBTO's preparatory commission executive secretary, said the nuclear test, if confirmed, is a breach in the movement against nuclear testing.

"It is also a grave threat to international peace and security," said Zerbo. "I urge the DPRK (North Korea) to refrain from further nuclear testing ... it is high time that the global prohibition on nuclear testing is enshrined into a legally binding instrument. I sincerely hope that this will serve as the final wake-up call to the international community to outlaw all nuclear testing by bringing the CTBT into force."

__

For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

--

UPDATE: 1:54 p.m. EST: Inclusion of Hillary Clinton's statement.

Related