This undated picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 3, 2017 shows the country’s leader, Kim Jong-Un (centre), looking at a metal casing with two bulges at an undisclosed location. North Korea has developed a hydrogen bomb which can be loaded into the country’s new ICBM, the official KCNA claimed. | Photo Credit:
AFP
http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...uclear-test/article19614617.ece?homepage=true
Seismic monitors measure an “explosion” of 6.3 magnitude near its main test site.
North Korea appeared to carry out a sixth nuclear test on Sunday, with seismic monitors measuring an “explosion” of 6.3 magnitude near its main test site, sending tensions over its weapons ambitions to new heights.
The apparent test came just hours after it claimed to have developed a hydrogen bomb that could be loaded into the country’s new intercontinental ballistic missile.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the seismic tremor was detected near the North’s Punggye-ri test site.
United States Geological Survey recorded the magnitude at 6.3 — larger than any previous test.
Rather, it is an explosion
Jana Pursely, a USGS geophysicist, told AFP: “It’s an explosion rather than an earthquake.”
Nuclear-armed Pyongyang has long sought the means to deliver an atomic warhead to the United States, its sworn enemy.
Questions remain over whether it has successfully miniaturised its weapons, and whether it has a working H-bomb, but the official Korean Central News Agency said before the quake that leader Kim Jong-Un had inspected such a device at the Nuclear Weapons Institute.
It was a “thermonuclear weapon with super explosive power made by our own efforts and technology,” KCNA cited Mr. Kim as saying, “all components of the H-bomb were 100 per cent domestically made.” Pictures showed Mr. Kim in black suit examining a metal casing, with a shape akin to a peanut shell.
New bout of tensions
North Korea triggered a new ramping up of tensions in July, when it carried out two successful tests of an ICBM, the Hwasong-14, which apparently brought much of the US mainland within range.
It has since threatened to send
a salvo of rockets towards the US territory of Guam, and last week fired a missile over Japan and into the Pacific, the first time time it has ever acknowledged doing so.
US President Donald Trump has warned Pyongyang that it faces “fire and fury,” and that Washington’s weapons are “locked and loaded.”
Mr. Trump spoke by telephone to Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the need to “maximize pressure on North Korea” in the face of the “growing threat” it presented, according to a White House readout of the call, without specifying when it took place.
It is thermonuclear: North
The North has repeatedly claimed that it has a thermonuclear weapon, which can be far more powerful than other nuclear devices.
When it carried out its fourth nuclear test, in January 2016, it said it was a miniaturised H-bomb, but scientists said the six-kiloton yield achieved then was far too low.
When it carried out its fifth test, in September 2016, it did not say it was a hydrogen bomb.
There was no immediate announcement from the North about Sunday’s earthquake.
Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP the latest KCNA report “carries a strategic message” that Pyongyang “will push for a nuclear face-off with the US as an equal.”
Actually mounting a warhead onto a missile would amount to a significant escalation on the North’s part, as it would create a risk that it was preparing an attack.
“Hundreds of kilotons”
The North Korean leadership says a credible nuclear deterrent is critical to the nation's survival, claiming it is under constant threat from an aggressive US.
It has been subjected to seven rounds of United Nations Security Council sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, but always insists it will continue to pursue them.
Its first nuclear test was in 2006, and successive blasts are believed to have been aimed at refining designs and reliability as well as increasing yield.
Its fifth detonation, in September last year, had a 10-kiloton yield according to Seoul — still less than the 15-kiloton US device which destroyed Hiroshima in 1945.
Hydrogen bombs are far more powerful
Atomic or “A-bombs” work on the principle of nuclear fission, where energy is released by splitting atoms of enriched uranium or plutonium encased in the warhead.
Hydrogen or H-bombs, also known as thermonuclear weapons, work on fusion and are far more powerful, with a nuclear blast taking place first to create the intense temperatures required.
In Sunday’s announcement before the earthquake, KCNA said the North’s H-bomb had “explosive power that can be adjusted from tens to hundreds of kilotons depending on the target,” KCNA said Sunday, claiming technological advances “on the basis of precious successes made in the first H-bomb test.”
No H-bomb has ever been used in combat, but they make up most of the world’’\s nuclear arsenals.
Important announcement by N. Korea?
Meanwhile, North Korea's state television said it would carry an important announcement at 0630 GMT, after an earthquake registering magnitude 6.3 was detected near its known nuclear test site on Sunday.
The chairman of South Korea's parliament defence committee was quoted as saying the quake was likely the result of a 100 kiloton blast, which is four to five times larger than the bomb that was dropped in Japan's Nagasaki in 1945.
Kim Young-woo said he was briefed about the assessment by South Korea's military, Yonhap said.
US 'committed' to defend Japan
U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told his Japanese counterpart on Sunday that Washington is firmly committed to defending Japan, including with its nuclear deterrent, following North Korea's latest nuclear test.
Mr. McMaster made the assurance during a telephone call to Shotarou Taniuchi, the Director-General of the Japanese National Security Council, according to a government statement.
Under Japan's alliance treaty with the United States, Washington has pledged to defend Japan. It has put Japan under its nuclear umbrella, meaning it could respond to any attack on Japan with atomic weapons.
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A Monotoring director of National Earthquake and Volcano Center, shows seismic waves taking place in North Korea on a screen at the Korea Meteorological Administration center on in Seoul on Sunday. | Photo Credit:
Chung Sung-Jun
http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...-was-h-bomb/article19614842.ece?homepage=true
Last month, North Korea fired a potentially nuclear-capable midrange missile over northern Japan.
North Korea said it set off a hydrogen bomb on Sunday in its sixth nuclear test, which judging by the earthquake it set off appeared to be its most powerful explosion yet.
South Korea’s weather agency estimated the
nuclear blast yield of the presumed test was between 50 and 60 kilotons, or five to six times stronger than North Korea’s fifth test in September 2016. That would mark a significant step forward in the North’s quest for a viable nuclear missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States.
On North Korean television, a newsreader called the test a
“complete success” and said the “two—stage thermonuclear weapon” had “unprecedented” strength. Hours earlier, Pyongyang claimed its leader had inspected a hydrogen bomb meant for a new intercontinental ballistic missile.
Seoul’s weather agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff said an artificial 5.7 magnitude quake occurred at 12:29 p.m. local time, in Kilju, northern Hamgyong province, the site where North Korea has conducted nuclear tests in the past.
Seoul officials revised their earlier estimate of 5.6 magnitude quake. The US Geological Survey called the first quake an explosion with a magnitude 6.3.
The US State Department had no immediate reaction. South Korea’s presidential office said it will hold a National Security Council meeting chaired by President Moon Jae—in.
South Korea’s military said it has strengthened its monitoring and readiness while mulling a variety of possible responses that could be executed in collaboration with the US.
Japan confirmed that North Korea conducted a nuclear test, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said. “It is absolutely unacceptable if North Korea did force another nuclear test, and we must protest strongly,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
The USGS and China’s earthquake administration detected a second tremor in North Korea minutes after the first, describing it as a cave-in or collapse. South Korea’s weather agency, however, said no second quake occurred.
North Korea conducted two nuclear tests last year, the last nearly a year ago, on the September 9 anniversary of the nation’s founding. It has since maintained a torrid pace in weapons tests, including its first two intercontinental ballistic missiles test in July.
Last month, North Korea fired a potentially nuclear-capable midrange missile over northern Japan.
Earlier today, photos released by the North Korean government showed Kim talking with his lieutenants as he observed a silver, peanut-shaped device that was apparently the purported thermonuclear weapon destined for an ICBM.
What appeared to be the nose cone of a missile could also be seen near the alleged bomb in one picture, which could not be independently verified and was taken without outside journalists present. Another photo showed a diagram on the wall behind Kim of a bomb mounted inside a cone.
State media said Kim visited the Nuclear Weapons Institute and inspected a “homemade” H-bomb with “super explosive power” that “is adjustable from tens (of) kiloton to hundreds (of) kiloton.”
North Korea’s nuclear and missile programme has made huge strides since Kim rose to power following his father’s death in late 2011.
The North followed its two tests of Hwasong-14 ICBMs by threatening in August to launch a salvo of its Hwasong—12 intermediate range missiles toward the US Pacific island territory of Guam.
It flew a Hwasong-12 over northern Japan last week, the first such overflight by a missile capable of carrying nukes, in a launch Kim described as a “meaningful prelude” to containing Guam, the home of major US military facilities, and more ballistic missile tests targeting the Pacific.
It may be difficult for outside experts to confirm that the nuclear device detonated today was an H—bomb. State media reported that the test left no trace of radioactive material.
The US and its allies attempt to detect blast material to gauge North Korea’s progress, but Pyongyang has become better at containing it as its nuclear program has evolved.
To back up its claims to nuclear mastery, such tests are vital. The first of its two atomic tests last year involved what Pyongyang claimed was a sophisticated hydrogen bomb; the second it said was its most powerful atomic detonation ever.
It is almost impossible to independently confirm North Korean statements about its highly secret weapons programme.
North Korea is thought to have a growing arsenal of nuclear bombs and has spent decades trying to perfect a multistage, long-range missile to eventually carry smaller versions of those bombs.
The White House said President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan regarding “ongoing efforts to maximize pressure on North Korea.”
The statement did not say whether the conversation came before or after the North’s latest claim.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...south-korea/article19614721.ece?homepage=true
A man watches a TV news report about a possible nuclear test conducted by North Korea at the Seoul Railway station in Seoul on Sunday. | Photo Credit:
AP
South Korea’s weather agency and the Joint Chief of Staff said an artificial 5.6 magnitude quake occurred at 12:29 p.m.
South Korea’s military on Sunday said that North Korea is believed to have conducted its sixth nuclear test after it detected a strong earthquake, hours after Pyongyang claimed that its leader has inspected a hydrogen bomb meant for a new intercontinental ballistic missile.
South Korea’s weather agency and the Joint Chief of Staff said an artificial 5.6 magnitude quake occurred at 12:29 p.m. local time, in Kilju, northern Hamgyong Province. The US Geological Survey called the first quake an explosion with a magnitude 6.3.
Shortly after,
Yonhap news agency said a second quake was detected with a magnitude 4.6 but South Korea’s weather agency denied another quake occurred. There was no word from the military in Seoul about the possible second quake.
North Korea conducted its fifth test last year in September. If confirmed, the latest test would mark yet another big step forward in North Korean attempts to obtain a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching deep into the US mainland.
The US State Department had no immediate reaction. South Korea’s presidential office said it will hold a National Security Council meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in.
North Korea conducted two nuclear tests last year and has since maintained a torrid pace in weapons tests, including flight-testing developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles and flying a powerful midrange missile over Japan.
Earlier on Sunday, photos released by the North Korean government showed Mr. Kim talking with his lieutenants as he observed a silver, peanut-shaped device that was apparently the purported thermonuclear weapon destined for an ICBM.
What appeared to be the nose cone of a missile could also be seen near the alleged bomb in one picture, which could not be independently verified and which was taken without outside journalists present. Another photo showed a diagram on the wall behind Kim of a bomb mounted inside a cone.
As part of the North’s weapons work, Mr. Kim was said by his propaganda mavens to have made a visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and inspected a “homemade” H-bomb with “super explosive power” that “is adjustable from tens (of) kiloton to hundreds (of) kiloton.”
North Korea in July conducted its first ever ICBM tests, part of a stunning jump in progress for the country’s nuclear and missile program since Kim rose to power following his father’s death in late 2011.
The North followed its two tests of Hwasong-14 ICBMs, which, when perfected, could target large parts of the United States, by threatening to launch a salvo of its Hwasong-12 intermediate range missiles toward the US Pacific island territory of Guam in August.
It flew a Hwasong-12 over northern Japan last week, the first such overflight by a missile capable of carrying nukes, in a launch Kim described as a “meaningful prelude” to containing Guam, the home of major US military facilities, and more ballistic missile tests targeting the Pacific.
Vipin Narang, an MIT professor specializing in nuclear strategy, said it’s important to note that North Korea was only showing a mockup of a two-stage thermonuclear device, or H-bomb. “We won’t know what they have until they test it, and even then there may be a great deal of uncertainty depending on the yield and seismic signature and any isotopes we can detect after a test,” he said.
To back up its claims to nuclear mastery, such tests are vital. The first of its two atomic tests last year involved what Pyongyang claimed was a sophisticated hydrogen bomb; the second it said was its most powerful atomic detonation ever.
It is almost impossible to independently confirm North Korean statements about its highly secret weapons programme.
South Korean government officials said the estimated explosive yield of last year’s first test was much smaller than what even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce. There was speculation that North Korea might have detonated a boosted fission bomb, a weapon considered halfway between an atomic bomb and an H-bomb.
North Korea is thought to have a growing arsenal of nuclear bombs and has spent decades trying to perfect a multistage, long-range missile to eventually carry smaller versions of those bombs.
The North said in its statement that its H-bomb “is a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack according to strategic goals.”
Kim, according to the statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, claimed that “all components of the H-bomb were homemade ... thus enabling the country to produce powerful nuclear weapons as many as it wants.”
China willing to ‘pay most of the price’ to uphold N. Korea sanctions, calls for talks
. Yup no war as US knows damn straight the PLA is gonna intervene.
