The U.S. and South Korea are seeking worldwide support to punish Pyongyang, while China has called for talks to resolve the impasse.
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A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flies over Osan Air Base in…
In the wake of the test on Wednesday, the two Koreas have settled into the kind of Cold War-era standoff that has defined their relationship over the past seven decades.
The bomber flew low past the Osan air base, flanked by an entourage of two South Korean F-15Ks and two U.S. F-16s before returning to its home base, the two sides’ militaries said.
At a mass rally held Friday in Pyongyang’ Kim Il-Sung square to celebrate the test, senior North Korean ruling party official Kim Ki-Nam said Seoul was once again playing with fire.
― File picSEOUL, Jan 10 ― North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un today justified what he claimed was his country’s first hydrogen bomb test as self-defence to prevent nuclear war with the USA, in his first comments since the explosion.
South Korea on Thursday took unilateral action by switching on giant banks of speakers on the border and blasting a mix of propaganda and K-pop into North Korea.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung Se by phone Friday that efforts should be made to pave the way for negotiations to end North Korea’s nuclear arms program, according to a text message from South Korea’s foreign ministry Saturday.
The United States is also considering sending a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean peninsula next month to join a naval exercise with Seoul, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported without identifying a source.
Two days after the test, Seoul resumed anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers along the demilitarized border, which Pyongyang considers an act of war.
It may take weeks or longer to confirm or refute the North’s claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, which would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal.
“The flight demonstrates the strength and capabilities of the Alliance”, said Gen Curtis M Scaparrotti, United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, US Forces Korea commander. In a statement, the Council said the test posed “a clear threat to global peace and security”. For current sanctions and any new penalties to work, better cooperation and stronger implementation from China is seen as key.
Outside experts are skeptical the blast was a hydrogen bomb, but even a test of an atomic bomb would push North Korea closer to building a nuclear warhead small enough to place on a long-range missile.
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North Korea’s actions angered traditional ally China and set off a firestorm of criticism in capitals across much of the world.
