White House casts doubt on North Korea hydrogen bomb claims

A statement read on North Korean television said a “miniaturized” hydrogen bomb had been tested to raise the communist country’s “nuclear might to the next level” in defending itself against the U.S. and other enemies.

In December, Kim claimed North Korea had a hydrogen bomb, but the White House and US officials said there was no solid evidence it had successfully built such a device.

A hydrogen bomb is an advanced kind of nuclear weapon that creates most of its explosive power through the fusion of hydrogen atoms.

Whether an H-bomb or not, it was North Korea’s fourth nuclear test and marked a striking act of defiance in the face of warnings that Pyongyang would pay a steep price if it continued pursuing its atomic weapons programme. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency released a statement noting that if confirmed, the test “is in clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable”. Following the earlier tests, the 28-nation bloc imposed a series of trade bans and asset freezes against some 60 North Korean individuals and entities.

THE Philippines immediately condemned the hydrogen bomb test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday.

At an emergency National Security Council meeting in Seoul, South Korean President Park Geun-hye vowed to respond with might to the North’s test.

Besides, the U.S. and North Korea were the only states that 10 years ago came out against a UN General Assembly’s resolution in support of the Treaty, the parliamentarian from the Federation Council noted.

While we were winding down last night after a long day covering CES 2016 and the rest of the country was finishing up its day as well, North Korea was detonating a nuclear bomb. Hydrogen weapons (also called thermonuclear weapons) are much more powerful than “standard” nuclear bombs made of uranium or plutonium.

But relations between the two have cooled rapidly in recent months and so I would expect China to demonstrate solidarity with western nations when the UN Security Council meets later.

Zerbo said his agency is working to confirm whether the seismic activity Tuesday night was in fact a nuclear test.