North Korea's claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb has prompted scepticism and some snark on social media, even as the development unnerved South Korea and Japan and drew international criticism.
The response mirrored the doubt expressed by some experts and officials over whether Pyongyang has achieved such a major advance in its strike capability. Social media sentiment on the matter was largely serious. That said, as the number of posts on Twitter grew, so did the jokes.
On the heavily trending #NorthKorea hashtag, several users took to poking fun at Kim Jong Un, the isolated country's leader.
Another user, Paul J Elliott (@PaulJElliott) said: "Kim Jong-un just saw the new Star Wars movie, and needed to invent an ultimate weapon."
"Even though the H-bomb #NorthKorea tested probably isn't real, congrats welcome to 1952!" Tweeted Anthony Sole (@A_Sole_).
The scepticism on Twitter was shared in the White House which said that initial analysis of the reported nuclear test is not consistent with Pyongyang's claim of a successful hydrogen bomb test.
Meanwhile, Dr. Silky Delicious (@datfunkykream) tweeted fake leaked photos of what he said were recent additions to North Korea's weapons arsenal, using the hashtag #NorthKoreaNuclearTest. The picture was a shot of a box of fireworks.
On Google Maps, users were posting satirical would-be travel reviews about the bomb's test site, complete with star ratings.
"Been here 1 week, have yet to develop the promised super powers of spider man and the incredible hulk," said a post from user David Day, who gave the test site one star.
Tristan Hughes gave it a 5-star rating. "The staff had sort of a glowing persona about them," Hughes wrote. "Even the loudest of noises doesn't seem to bother anyone."
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