China border residents evacuated after North Korea test

A North Korean flag is pictured at its embassy in Beijing on Jan 6, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese border residents were evacuated from buildings after feeling tremors from North Korea's nuclear test on Wednesday (Jan 6), state media reported.

People near the frontier with North Korea "clearly felt tremors" on Wednesday (Jan 6) morning after Pyongyang said it had detonated a hydrogen bomb, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said on a verified social media account.

The areas included Yanji, Hunchun and Changbai in Jilin province, it added - some of the counties closest to the North's nuclear test site.

Residents in Yanji saw desks and chairs shake for several seconds and some companies evacuated employees from their offices, it said.

Students at a senior high school were dismissed during an examination after its recreation ground cracked, it added.

China is the North's closest diplomatic ally and main provider of trade and aid, but Beijing has become increasingly frustrated with its pursuit of its nuclear ambitions and regularly calls for calm on the Korean peninsula.

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un suggested Pyongyang had already developed a hydrogen bomb, but the claim was questioned by international experts and scepticism continued over Wednesday's (Jan 6) test announcement.

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