Japan and the United States early on Thursday confirmed to closely cooperate to cope with the hydrogen bomb test conducted by North Korea on Wednesday.
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South Korean President Park Geun Hye says North would “pay a price” for fourth test.
An editorial in the government-published China Daily described the test as “risky, irresponsible and reckless”, but said the problem was best addressed through the “collective wisdom and determination” of the worldwide community.
Compare these explanations to that given by North Korea for its latest test. “This test is a measure for self-defence”, the official statement said, “to firmly protect the sovereignty of the country and the vital right of the nation from the ever-growing nuclear threat and blackmail”, and “to reliably safeguard the peace on the Korean Peninsula and regional security”.
Western intelligence agencies will be on alert in the wake of the test for indications that North Korea is moving closer towards an operational nuclear missile capability.
The United Nations Security Council also will hold a meeting later Wednesday, at the behest of the United States and Japan.
According to figures from China Customs, the country exported more than 176,000 tonnes of refined oil to North Korea in the first 11 months of 2015 – more than the total for 2014 – and over 23 million tonnes of grain. North Korea has in the past sold missile technology to Iran – and some reports allege that arrangement persists. “North Korea should abandon nuclear weapons”. And Pyongyang is not likely to forget that the current U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter recommended in 2006 that military force be used to halt North Korea’s missile program. Kerry further added that the United States will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear power and such actions were only strengthening this belief.
If North Korea really did test a hydrogen bomb, or even a bomb “boosted” with a hydrogen isotope, it could signal an interest in eventually developing far more destructive weaponry – bombs of horrifically high yield whose development might not remain outside Pyongyang’s technological grasp for long.
A document signed by North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, seen in footage aired on North Korean state television, read: “Make the world to look up to our strong nuclear country and labor party by opening the year with (the) exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb!”
One reason for the lack of urgency has been a three-year hiatus in North Korean nuclear tests or long-range rocket launches.
“Beijing will face increased pressure both domestically and internationally to punish and rein in Kim Jong-Un”, said Yanmei Xie, the International Crisis Group s senior analyst for Northeast Asia.
The foreign ministry in Beijing said it “firmly opposes” the nuclear test, which was carried out “irrespective of the worldwide community s opposition”.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) also condemned the test, saying that the “reckless and unacceptable act runs counter to the growing tide of international support for a universal treaty outlawing nuclear weapons”.
– August 2013: North Korea reported to have restarted nuclear reactor to produce plutonium.
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It may be possible to glean further clues about what exactly North Korea has done. The 2013 sanctions resolution was co-sponsored by China and the United States.
