“I am certain the day will come when we will see North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un stand trial at the ICC”, says Ahn Myung Chul, a former prison guard.
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“Thanks to the historic gun shots fired by our dear leader [Kim Il Sung], our state was able to become a strong nuclear-armed country capable of producing hydrogen bombs alongside atomic bombs in our defense of our sovereignty and integrity”, Kim was quoted as saying by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday.
North Korean (DPRK) leader, Kim Jong-un, has affirmed that his country has developed not only nuclear weapons but also hydrogen bombs. Those weapons require far more advanced technology than the North Koreans are believed to have, as well as access to raw materials, as well as an ability to miniaturize the weaponry that North Korea is presently not believed to have.
“It’s hard to regard North Korea as possessing an H-bomb”. But is it true that Pyongyang has a hydrogen bomb ready to deploy?
However, any such device it might be working on would be cruder and more old-fashioned than the classical H-bomb and would require larger nuclear tests than North Korea has yet conducted.
The looney despot said his nation – which he called “a great nuclear power” – had developed a hydrogen bomb.
North Korea promised in 2010 that it had developed fusion technology.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has suggested that North Korea is strengthening its nuclear capabilities, and has stated that the country’s statements about renovations at Yongbyon are consistent with satellite imagery of the location.
South and North Korea are set to hold high-level talks Friday to discuss how to mend frayed ties following heightened cross-border military tensions earlier this year.
One theory is that the H-bomb announcement is a distraction created to throw the world off the fact that North Korean Navy recently tested a submarine-launched nuclear missile-and it didn’t go well.
“I think it’s unlikely that they have an H-bomb at the moment, but I don’t expect them to keep testing basic devices indefinitely, either”, Lewis told the media outlet.
And of course, even if North Korea hasn’t obtained the sophisticated weapon that Kim claimed this week, it’s probably trying.
The head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation said: “In the 21st century, they are the only country to have conducted a nuclear test explosion”.
Albright, too, noted that the North Koreans could have obtained technical assistance from Russian experts.
North Korea has demonstrated some alarming military capacities, as well as contempt for global rules and sanctions.
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“The global community has a collective responsibility to protect the population of the DPRK, and to consider the wider implications of the reported grave human rights situation for the stability of the region”, Jeffrey Feltman, U.N. political affairs chief, told the council.
