Earnest: North Korea’s Hydrogen Bomb Claim ‘ Not Consistent’ with White House

“North Korea’s continued violations of its worldwide obligations pose a grave threat to global peace and security, and particularly to the stability of the region”.

But based on analysis of the seismic wave the blast triggered, US intelligence is “highly skeptical” of the North Korean claim it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

The United States plans to seek a United Nations Security Council resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea, following their unconfirmed test of a hydrogen bomb Tuesday.

The UN Security Council has also agreed to start drawing up new measures against North Korea.

When animosities sharply rose in the spring of 2013 following North Korea’s third nuclear test, the US took the unusual step of sending its most powerful warplanes – B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and B-52 bombers – to drills with South Korea in a show of force.

South Korea’s meteorological agency said it detected an artificial natural disaster 30 miles (49km) from the Punggye-ri site where the North has conducted previous tests.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has said that, if elected president of the United States, he wouldn’t launch a preemptive strike to destroy North Korea’s nuclear facilities.

He also indicated that the White House was not surprised by North Korea’s nuclear testing.

“All of this depends on the appetite of the council, particularly the Chinese position”, he said. “I mean, I know it sounds disjointed but the number one component solution for all of our problems is we have to have a robust and successful economy”.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the underground nuclear test “deeply troubling” and “profoundly destabilizing for regional security”.

Some analysts have suggested it is possible Pyongyang tested a “boosted” atomic bomb, which uses some fusion fuel to increase the yield of the fission reaction. The new tests may be proof of DPRK’s advancement in nuclear technology.

As far as how the USA would confront North Korea’s latest provocation, Earnest vowed that President Barack Obama would continue to advance the U.S. interests “through principled, focused, tenacious, diplomatic engagement”. “Their objective is to appear militarily dominant over South Korea, a non-nuclear nation”. North Korea is thought to have a handful of rudimentary nuclear bombs and has spent decades trying to ideal a warhead small enough to place on a missile that can reach the US. “Whether they succeeded now or will in the future, the real question is what are we doing to do about this threat?”