H-bomb???

North Korea says it conducts its first H-bomb test

If confirmed, the latest test would significantly improve the country’s nuclear capability. 

By Cynthia Kroet

North Korea said Wednesday it had successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test, an unexpected move that, if confirmed, would significantly improve Pyongyang’s nuclear capability.

The test brings the country’s “nuclear might to the next level” and provides it with “a weapon to defend against the United States and its other enemies,” state TV announced in a special broadcast.

“However, as a peaceful nation and a nuclear powered-nation, North Korea will be a responsible state and will not use its nuclear power before [an attack] and will not transfer the technology to others,” North Korea said.

But the validity of Pyongyang’s statement was not immediately clear. U.S. officials “cannot confirm these claims at this time,” said Ned Price, a spokesman for the National Security Council, according to news agencies. “We are monitoring and continuing to assess the situation in close coordination with our regional partners.”

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said in a statement that if confirmed, North Korea’s actions are a “threat to the peace and security of the entire North East Asia region” as well as a violation of the UN’s Security Council resolutions.

The alleged test, the fourth time North Korea has exploded a nuclear device, was requested by the country’s leader Kim Jong Un, according to state media.

The country has not done any atomic explosion since early 2013 and Kim Jong Un did not mention nuclear weapons in his New Year’s speech. Hydrogen bombs are significantly more powerful than atomic weapons and also harder to make.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was a “serious threat” to the safety of Japan. “We absolutely cannot tolerate this,” Abe said.

Park Geun-Hye, South Korea’s president, called the test a “grave provocation.”

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday in New York to discuss what steps it could take. North Korea’s previous atomic tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013 triggered waves of U.N. sanctions.

The size of Wednesday’s earthquake as a result of the test is bigger than seismic activity reported in the previous atomic bomb tests.