North Korea sent a chilling statement of intent to the West yesterday after conducting its first successful hydrogen bomb test.
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North Korea said it had successfully conducted a test of a miniaturised hydrogen nuclear device this morning, marking a significant advance in the isolated state’s strike capabilities and raising alarm bells in Japan and South Korea.
Japan said on Thursday that it has detected no changes in radiation levels within its territory – following North Korea’s claimed test of a hydrogen bomb the day before.
Park Hyeong-Jung of the Korea Institute for National Unification said this suggests North Korea is still peeved at China for criticizing its nuclear program and backing sanctions.
The European Union condemned North Korea’s claim as a “grave violation” of a United Nations ban on its development of nuclear weapons and a threat to the region.
Some experts have said that the quake magnitude wasn’t large enough to be a true thermonuclear explosion, but it will take a while for sources outside of North Korea to confirm or deny the explosive claims.
In addition, the USA will seek a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions against North Korea in the wake of its nuclear test, US officials told CNN Wednesday.
Chinese support is crucial in adopting a new resolution for sanctions as it is one of the veto-wielding five permanent members of the council.
“A clear threat to global peace and security continues to exist”, the statement read.
In Washington, the White House said Obama reaffirmed the “unshakeable USA commitment” to South Korea’s security, and the two leaders agreed to work together to forge a united and strong worldwide response to North Korea’s latest reckless behavior.
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This announcement came after an emergency meeting of the Council, which was called following the declaration from North Korea that it had tested a hydrogen bomb at a testing site in the north of the country for the first time. To be on the safe side, the USA keeps its missile defense system, which officials say is capable of shooting down a small number of North Korean missiles, on constant alert.
