North Korea has released a statement today, claiming to have carried out a successful hydrogen bomb test. The announcement came as a surprise following an Earthquake that is believed to be artificially caused. It has been reported that North Kore carried out the test at the Punggye-ri underground test site located in the far northeast. According to the statement released, the test was a ‘perfect success.’
If confirmed by foreign experts, the test will cause a strong push for new and even tougher sanctions to be imposed by United Nations and shall also damage the relations that Pyongyang has with neighbors.
I doubt DPRK exploded a real H-Bomb. More likely a "boosted" weapon with tritium added to increase the yield of a fission bomb.
— Joe Cirincione (@Cirincione) January 6, 2016
As mentioned before, the announcement was made following an ‘artificial earthquake’ that was detected by South Korean officials near the North Korea’s main nuclear testing site. An official from the Korea Meteorological Administration, South Korea’s weather agency stated that the earthquake was of 5.1 magnitude and that it believed was caused artificially. According to the agency, it originated 49 kilometers north of Kilju, northeastern area where North Korea’s main nuclear test site is located. The office further said, “We suspect a man-made earthquake and are analyzing the scale and epicenter of the quake with the geoscience and mineral resource institute of South Korea.”
BREAKING: South Korean weather agency sees signs of "artificial quake" near North Korean nuke test site.
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 6, 2016
The White House stated that it could not confirm the claims of North Korea, however, is ‘monitoring and continuing to assess the situation’.
Ned Price, White House National Security Council spokesman said, “While we cannot confirm these claims at this time, we condemn any violation of UNSC Resolutions and again call on North Korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments.”
Very preliminary but from size of the seismic event some experts say this could not have been an actual H-bomb test. https://t.co/EydNX0JpTJ
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) January 6, 2016
The UN Security Council is going to conduct an emergency meeting today to talk about the latest nuclear test from North Korea and chances are that this meeting would be a closed meeting. It would seem that North Korea is moving closer to building a warhead that is small enough to be mounted on a missile and capable of making its way to mainland America’s shores.