Korea officials to meet on N. Korea on Saturday

According to the U.S. Pacific Command, the B-52 Stratofortress was accompanied on its flight by two Republic of Korea Air Force F-15K Slam Eagles and two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons.

During a photo session with hundreds of participants at the headquarters of the Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, the young ruler lauded them for “glorifying the long-held missions of his predecessors” by successfully carrying out what he said was a hydrogen bomb test? a claim that has become the subject of dispute among outside observers.

The nuclear test “is the legitimate right of a sovereign state, which no one can refute”, the daily quoted Kim as reciting the regime’s standard line.

The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and the USA has about 28,500 troops based in South Korea.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Lee Sun-jin warned that the North Korean military “is highly likely to push ahead with further sudden provocations”, according to the Yonhap news agency. “Almost all of its socioeconomic activities will be paralyzed, from the transportation sector to the military sector; inflation will rise; prices will soar; social anxiety will cause riots; and North Korean society will face a collapse”.

The White House and Western nuclear weapons experts said initial seismic and other data did not support North Korea’s claim, however, because the underground blast appeared similar in size to the three previous nuclear tests.

But differences of opinion linger between South Korea and China regarding North Korea’s nuclear provocations.

In Washington, the USA official said they were discussing deploying “the whole range” of such assets but this meant such things as nuclear-capable bombers rather than restoring US nuclear weapons to South Korea for the first time in about a quarter century.

In 2010, Seoul stopped all new investment in Kaesong, after accusing the North of torpedoing the navy ship Cheonan and killing 46 South Korean sailors – an allegation the North denied.

“This was a demonstration of the ironclad USA commitment to our allies in South Korea, in Japan, and to the defense of the American homeland”, said PACOM Commander Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr.

Pyongyang says developing a nuclear weapon was important in order to protect itself against U.S. interference in North Korean affairs, and that the bomb can defend Pyongyang against any invasion.

But it seems North Korea is trying to match Seoul’s propaganda campaign.

North Korea has reportedly set up some loudspeaker stations of its own in the border area to drown out the South’s broadcasts.

Still, the second nuclear test since Kim came to power four years ago may have angered President Xi Jinping, who in October sent a high-ranking envoy to Pyongyang with a handwritten letter seeking deeper cooperation.