North Korea has defended its latest nuclear test, saying the fate of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya showed what happened when countries forsake their nuclear weapon ambitions, The Telegraph reported on Saturday.

It also warned South Korea, which resumed high-decibel propaganda broadcasts across the inter-Korean border in response to Wednesday's test, that its actions were driving the divided peninsula to "the brink of war".

A commentary published by the official KCNA news agency late on Friday said Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test was a "great event" that provided North Korea with a deterrent powerful enough to secure its borders against all hostile forces, including the United States.

"History proves that powerful nuclear deterrence serves as the strongest treasured sword for frustrating outsiders' aggression," the commentary said.

North Korea said the test was of a miniaturized hydrogen bomb - a claim largely dismissed by experts who argue the yield was far too low for a full-fledged thermonuclear device.

The KCNA commentary said the current international situation resembled the "law of the jungle" where only the strongest survive.

"The Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq and the Gaddafi regime in Libya could not escape the fate of destruction after being deprived of their foundations for nuclear development and giving up nuclear programs of their own accord," it said.

Source: MENA