Turkey condemns North Korea’s alleged hydrogen bomb test

South Korea said Thursday that it will resume anti-Pyongyang broadcasts this week along the heavily fortified border with North Korea in retaliation of Pyongyang’s claimed hydrogen bomb test.

The country’s fourth nuclear test appeared no more powerful than its last test almost two years ago.

But the explosive yield is only a fraction of what would be expected during the explosion of a hydrogen bomb, it is claimed.

Seoul chose to restart propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts against Pyongyang after North Korea announced this week that it had successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device. Even a test of an atomic bomb, a less sophisticated and less powerful weapon, would push its scientists and engineers closer to their goal of building a nuclear warhead small enough to place on a missile that can reach the US mainland.

“North Korea could carry out a surprise provocation at any time in the current confrontational situation on the Korean Peninsula and we should be prepared for it”, President Park Geun-hye said in a meeting with almost 500 female leaders in western Seoul.

Bangladesh was committed to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament as a signatory of global treaties, the statement said.

North Korea also said it was capable of miniaturising the H-bomb, in theory allowing it to be placed on a missile and threatening the US West Coast, South Korea and Japan.

United Nations diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks have been private, said a new resolution would aim to add more people to the sanctions list, including those linked to a key procurement company, and limit the travel of senior North Korean officials.

British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said the test is another example of Pyongyang’s “reckless challenge to worldwide norms of behavior and the authority of the U.N. Security Council”.

If confirmed, it will mark a significant step forward in North Korea’s efforts to build a nuclear arsenal and pose a significant security threat.

At an emergency session the UN Security Council pledged to impose further sanctions on North Korea, saying the H-bomb test was a “clear violation” of previous UN resolutions.

Park and Obama also shared the need of coordinating a stance with China in dealing with North Korea’s hydrogen bomb test. The park’s operation won’t likely be affected much as the restriction will apply to clients, potential buyers and service providers from South Korea, rather than managers who commute to work with North Korean labourers.

But an early analysis by the US government was “not consistent with the claims that the regime has made of a successful hydrogen bomb test”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

The device, while “highly unlikely to have been a hydrogen bomb”, may have been “a boosted fission weapon, indicative of North Korea’s developing weapons capabilities”, said Alison Evans of intelligence consultants IHS Country Risk.

Experts believe the bomb will largely be used as a means of increasing North Korea’s influence on the world stage.

North Koreans watch a news broadcast on a video screen about the test conducted. The four other members are the U.S., Britain, France and Russian Federation.