South Korea's stock market dropped sharply Monday morning after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced that it has conducted a nuclear test.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened at 1356.59 points on Monday morning and dropped sharply to 1303.62 at about 12 a.m. local time (0300 GMT).

The high-tech KOSDAQ index fell to Monday's lowest level of 533.85 points from the opening 588.03 points.

Earlier Monday, the DPRK said it has conducted an underground nuclear test, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

Source: Xinhua