Panic as North Korea says hydrogen bomb is ready, nuclear test completed
'They only understand one thing': America and South Korea agree to 'military response' after North Korea celebrates its most powerful nuclear test ever which sparked 6.3 magnitude quake
America and South Korea have agreed a 'military response' after North Korea detonated a hydrogen bomb sparking a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake. Donald Trump earlier branded the nation 'a great threat and embarrassment to China' following the nuclear test. The US President took to Twitter (inset) to slam the country as 'very hostile and dangerous' in the hours after the terrifying tremor, adding: 'They only understand one thing.' State television claimed the country's sixth nuclear test - 10 times more powerful than its fifth - was a 'perfect success' and could pave the way for a frightening new range of missiles loaded with hydrogen bombs. It added that the underground test - which was directly ordered by leader Kim Jong-un (pictured top) - was a 'meaningful' step in completing the country's nuclear weapons programme.
To the dismay of most countries around the world, North Korea says it has successfully tested a nuclear weapon that could be loaded on to a long-range missile. The country said its sixth nuclear test was a perfect success. This was especially scary since hours earlier seismologists had detected an earth tremor. Pyongyang said it had tested a hydrogen bomb which is many times more powerful than an atomic bomb.
According to analysts this might not be true, yet it is a source for concern. South Korean officials said the latest test took place in Kilju County, where the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site is situated.
Pyongyang said it had miniaturised a hydrogen bomb for use on a long-range missile, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was pictured with what state media said was a new type of hydrogen bomb. State media said the device could be loaded on to a ballistic missile. According to BBC, nuclear weapons expert, Catherine Dill, said it was not yet clear exactly what nuclear weapon design was tested.
"But based on the seismic signature, the yield of this test definitely is an order of magnitude higher than the yields of the previous tests." "Current information did not definitively indicate that a thermonuclear weapon had been tested but it appears to be a likely possibility at this point," she said. There have been various responses to the development by world leaders.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in reacted by saying North Korea's sixth nuclear test should be met with the "strongest possible" response, including new United Nations Security Council sanctions to "completely isolate" the country. China also condemned the test. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said sanctions against North Korea should include restrictions on the trade of oil products.
Russia meanwhile said the test defied international law and urged all sides involved to hold talks, saying this was the only way to resolve the Korean peninsula's problems.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the global nuclear watchdog, described the test as "an extremely regrettable act".
Yukiya Amano said: "This new test, which follows the two tests last year and is the sixth since 2006, is in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the international community."
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