Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rallied more than one percent Tuesday, as geopolitical tension between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the U.S. pushes futures to highest close in nearly a year.

The most active gold contract for December delivery went up 14.1 dollars, or 1.06 percent, to settle at 1,344.5 dollars per ounce.

The strong gain for what's considered a haven investment came after the DPRK on Sunday detonated a hydrogen bomb that can be carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile, as announced by DPRK's Central Television.

Weakness in the dollar also helped to boost gold prices. The U.S. Dollar Index edged down by 0.3 percent as of 1930 GMT.

Gold and the U.S. dollar typically move inversely as gold priced in greenbacks is more attractive to investors using another currency. U.S. equities also traded broadly lower, feeding further investment demand for gold.

As for other precious metals, silver for December delivery rose 12.5 cents, or 0.7 percent, to close at 17.941 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October stayed unchanged at 1009.00 dollars per ounce.