Pyongyang’s state media said the test, which comes after a series of ballistic missile launches that have drawn worldwide condemnation and United Nations sanctions, had achieved its goal of being able to fit a miniaturised nuclear warhead on a rocket.
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North Korea’s state TV said the North was now capable of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets.
Seismologists detected a powerful artificial quake at 0030 GMT Friday, which they said was centered around Punggye-ri, North Korea’s nuclear test site.
Pyongyang said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat the global community has been powerless to contain.
The test came as North Korea celebrates the “day of the foundation of the republic”, the 68th anniversary of the formation of the communist regime by Kim Il Sung, the current leader’s grandfather.
South Korea’s military says it is analyzing whether North Korea has conducted its fifth nuclear test after seismic activity was reported Friday morning.
Last year, the U.S. -Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) estimated that North Korea has enough plutonium and highly enriched uranium to build 10-16 nuclear devices and the nuclear fuel cycle capability to replenish and increase its nuclear stockpile.
The sanctions included a ban on North Korea exporting most of the country’s natural resources with coal alone estimated to be worth $1 billion in annual income, according to Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the UN.
This is similar to rhetoric seen in May, when state news agency KCNA quoted leader Kim Jong Un as saying the country’s missile testing had “elevated our respect to the world and enemies”.
“As to the possible sanctions to be adopted by UN Security Council”.
The North Koreans are trying to show the USA and South Korea that they are a serious threat in a bid to resume negotiations without the condition of denuclearization, said Shunji Hiraiwa, a professor of contemporary Korean Studies at Japan’s Kwansei Gakuin University.
North Korea has claimed, it has successfully carried out its fifth nuclear test.
China’s environment ministry began emergency radiation monitoring along its northeastern border with North Korea, the state broadcaster CCTV reported on its official Sina Weibo microblog. Comparing with the 4th test which was conducted in January this year, how is this test different and what can we infer from it?
– February 7: North Korea launches a long-range rocket.
North Korea will likely receive another sanction for this latest test – but that hasn’t stopped the regime in the past.
Nuclear tests are usually heralded by chatter among analysts about preparations at Punggye-ri but there had been little discussion in recent weeks over any signs.
The MOFA said the ROC government has always taken the stance that it supports the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the region.
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Mike Chinoy, former CNN worldwide correspondent and the author of “Meltdown: The inside story of the North Korean nuclear crisis”, called January’s test of a hydrogen bomb a “real slap in the face” for China.
