North Korea announced Wednesday that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test.
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The UN Security Council condemned North Korea’s nuclear test in the strongest terms as a “clear threat to worldwide peace and security”, and in light of “the gravity of this violation” pledged to pursue new global sanctions against Pyongyang.
The loudspeaker broadcasts – which will start today, thought to be the birthday of young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – are certain to infuriate Pyongyang because they are meant to raise questions in North Korean minds about the infallibility of the ruling Kim family.
– U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tells reporters he spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi over the phone and urged Beijing to end “business as usual” with North Korea after its nuke test.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Friday asked South Korea to refrain from the propaganda broadcasts.
When South Korea last blasted proaganda over the border for two weeks last August, the two Koreas exchanged artillery fire.
North Korea’s claimed hydrogen-bomb test has prompted the UN Security Council to discuss possible sanctions as world leaders seek to build a consensus on an appropriate response.
The underground explosion angered China, which was not given prior notice although it is North Korea’s main ally, pointing to a strain in their ties.
US President Barack Obama has spoken to South Korean President Park Geun Hye and to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.
The Washington Post reported the U.S. Air Force is expected to deploy “sniffer planes” to test for radiation near North Korea.
The United States has urged China to try different approaches to deal with North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as a long-time benefactor of the country.
The United States has said the Chinese approach has not worked in restrainingthe nuclear adventurism of North Korea and it was time to consider better measures. President Park and Obama also renewed their commitment to address the North Korean nuclear issue with the “utmost urgency”, as they had at their summit in October.
A US government source said Washington believes North Korea had set off the latest in a series of tests of atomic bombs.
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The US, however, said that the initial data from its monitoring stations in Asia were inconsistent with a test of a hydrogen bomb, adding there was no evidence so far to support North Korean “Hydrogen Bomb” claim.
