North Korea conducts sixth and most powerful nuclear test yet

Asia-Pacific, News September 3, 2017 , by IRIA No Comments

North Korea’s sixth nuke test estimated to have yield of 100 kilotons

North Korea carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sunday, North Korean state television announced the country has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. South Korean officials have also confirmed the news.

Japanese and South Korean meteorological officials said an earthquake detected near the North’s test site – measured by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at magnitude 6.3 – was around 10 times more powerful than previous detonations.

North Korea said on Sunday it has developed a more advanced thermonuclear weapon that possesses “great destructive power” and will be loaded on a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that experts believe has the range to hit much of the United States.

North Korea “recently succeeded” in making a more advanced hydrogen bomb, the country’s official KCNA news agency said.

“The H-bomb, the explosive power of which is adjustable from tens kiloton to hundreds kiloton, is a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack according to strategic goals,” KCNA said.

North Korea’s apparent sixth nuclear test was estimated to have a yield of up to 100 kilotons, about four to five times stronger than the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, South Korean news agency Yonhap News reported.

“(The North’s latest test) is estimated to have a yield of up to 100 kilotons, though it is a provisional report,” Kim of the minor opposition Bareun Party told Yonhap News Agency over the phone. “The test will be a very crucial political and strategic inflexion point.”

Tensions rise as North Korea test Hydrogen bomb

The hydrogen bomb report by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency comes amid heightened regional tension following Pyongyang’s two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) in July that potentially could fly about 10,000 km (6,200 miles).

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after a telephone call with U.S. President Donald Trump that the two leaders had agreed to “further step up pressure” on Pyongyang, Abe told reporters after the 20-minute teleconference.

“We completely agreed that we must thoroughly coordinate with each other and with South Korea, and cooperate closely with the international community, to increase pressure on North Korea and make it change its policies,” Abe said.