North Korea dropped a bomb underground yesterday, conducting its third successful nuclear test since 2006 and creating a small seismic event. The explosion was about twice as large as the last test, in 2009, though the bomb is thought to have been made with plutonium, and not the much scarier uranium. U.S. officials had been expecting such a test, and the president has already issued a statement condemning it—as has China, North Korea's only regional ally—though it likely won't stop North Korea from conducting a fourth test in the coming days. North Korean officials remain unbowed, literally: "The DPRK will never bow to any resolutions," a top diplomat told the Conference on Disarmament.

According to reports from the U.S. Geological Survey, there was a small, 4.9 magnitude earthquake in North Korea late on Monday. The tremor's epicenter was reportedly near North Korea's previous nuclear test sites, where devices were detonated in 2006 and 2009, fueling rumors that the quake was the result of a nuclear explosion. Those rumors have now been confirmed by a United Nations Security Council diplomat, South Korea's Defense Ministry, who are reporting the test yielded an explosion of six to seven kilotons, and the North Korean government.

North Korea, almost certainly the funniest nightmare starvation hell-state on the planet right now, has a new propaganda video on its YouTube, because in 2013 we are all vloggers, even cruel totalitarian powers. It depicts a young boy, Canon camera by his bedside, dreaming of a North Korean spaceship bombing New York City. The soundtrack is "We Are the World"; the footage of New York is from the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The Guardian translates the captions: "Somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing. It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze." Sure, guys. Good luck with that nuclear test.

Google has just released its first, detailed maps of North Korea. You know what that means: ROOAAAD!!! TRIIIP!!!

The Heritage Foundation has released its annual list of the world's freest economies and, wouldn't you know it, the Asia-Pacific region is number one. Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand are all on top while the world's largest economy, America's, barely cracks the top ten.

Today is January 8th, the 30th birthday of Kim Jong-un, North Korea's most powerful basketball enthusiast. Happy birthday big guy! North Korean news blog NKNews.org has taken the opportunity to introduce us to some of the ways in which brave North Korean people have been mocking Kim Jong-un in days leading up to his birthday. Apparently they're not super enthralled with the festivities, which have included such delights as "Street-Cleaning for the Leader's Birthday." Also, "compulsory apple-picking days"—the North Korean equivalent of a Chuck E. Cheese party.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt arrived in Pyongyang today for the start of a controversial trip to North Korea on a "private humanitarian mission" with former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson. The State Department isn't too keen on the visit, coming so soon after North Korea pissed off the world by launching a satellite into orbit. But Eric Schmidt does what he wants, because he is from The Internet, and The Internet heeds no mortal law.

North Korean officials have arrested an American citizen, though they have not yet stated what crime the man commit.

What a fun, sexy time to be a baby.

North Korea successfully launched what appears to be a satellite into orbit yesterday, in a stratospheric "screw you" to the international community. Here is a North Korean TV special news bulletin on the launch, from Martyn Williams. Skip ahead to :46 to see one of the most passionate news anchor performances since Anderson Cooper's Gigglefest of 2011.

For once, it appears North Korea actually did something right. Several weeks after first announcing their plans, Kim Jong-un et al successfully launched a long range rocket Tuesday evening. Before it crashed into the Pacific ocean east of the Philipines, the North Korean government claims the rocket put a weather satellite into orbit, although neither Japan nor South Korea could immediatly confirm their claim (not that there's any reason not to trust the North Korean government at their word).

What kind of science news are you looking for today? Do you want to hear about ancient Greek murder caves? Korean unicorn caves? About those crazy little eyeless fish that swim around in silt-black underground lakes as if to say that eyes are for chumps? You're in luck; all of those things have been discovered this week.

Back in April, North Korea tried to send a rocket into space while the rest of the world was like, "c'mon man, please just don't do that." The launch famously failed after the rocket blew up a few minutes after it was fired off.

China may be leading the US in many areas, but, thankfully, we've still got a clear edge in both satire and snark.

Before going on, I want everyone to locate and read Nothing to Envy, the best account yet of the lives of ordinary North Koreans. OK? Everyone done? The most striking scene in the book illustrated just how isolated the country is: North Koreans, in possession of an ancient mobile phone, huddled at an isolated spot on the northern border where one bar of reception would occasionally leak over from China.

Maybe it's his youthful open-mindedness, maybe it's because he's related to a hipster, but no matter the explanation, there's no doubt that very cool things are happening for North Korea under the leadership of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.

In a recent interview with Finnish journalist (and former United Nations undersecretary general) Elisabeth Rehn, Kim Han-sol, the grandson of deceased North Korean looker-at-things Kim Jong Il, called his Uncle Kim Jong-un a "dictator." Despite the obviousness of the statement, this is big news because, well, there probably aren't too many people in his family willing to say shit like that in public, if at all.

Dear Honorable leader Kim Jong Un inspires glory among all of his well-fed and athletic socialist subjects simply by triumphantly touring his happy nation, joyously soaking in the pleasant aroma of the world's best flowers, and never, ever eating those flowers, because of the aforementioned well-fed status of the North Korean people. The overstuffed smiling citizens of the DPRK demand that a machine lathe be awarded all outstanding heroic accolades and awards!

His magisterial highness the beloved democratic leader KIM JONG-UN today happily ruled over the smiling people's kingdom of the DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA, where great tributes and praise for the beloved memory of the late heroic kindly leader of the people in perpetuity KIM JONG-IL, father of beloved current leader of the happily satisfied people and animals alike KIM JONG-UN, are routinely the order of the day. In what way was the memory of the highest imperial democratic inspiration KIM JONG-IL praised today, by the industrious citizens of the world, according to the DPRK's official news agency?

A North Korean man may have had the best luck—and hangover—of any drunk person in history. He was discovered last Sunday morning on the South Korean Island of Gangwha, near the border with North Korea, having apparently floated to the South on a piece of wood while trashed.