N/Korea conducts hydrogen bomb test

North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test
on Sunday, which it said was an advanced hydrogen bomb for a
long-range missile.

This marks a dramatic escalation of the regime’s stand-off with
the United States and its allies.

The announcement from Pyongyang came a few hours after
international seismic agencies detected a manmade earthquake near
the North’s test site, which Japanese and South Korean officials
said was around 10 times more powerful than the tremor picked up
after its last nuclear test a year ago.

There was no independent confirmation that the detonation, which
drew swift international condemnation, was a hydrogen bomb rather
than a less powerful atomic device. But Japan’s Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tokyo could not rule out the
possibility that it was a hydrogen bomb.

The test is a direct challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump,
who hours earlier had talked by phone with Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe about the “escalating” nuclear crisis in the region and
has previously vowed to stop North Korea developing nuclear weapons
that could threaten the United States.

North Korea, which carries out its nuclear and missile programs
in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions and
sanctions, said in an announcement on state television that a
hydrogen bomb test ordered by leader Kim Jong Un was a “perfect
success”.

The bomb was designed to be mounted on its newly developed
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the North said.

The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, IAEA Director General
Yukiya Amano said the nuclear test was “an extremely regrettable
act” that was “in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the
international community”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the international
community must react firmly to this “new provocation”, and South
Korean President Moon Jae-in said Seoul would push for strong steps
to further isolate the North, including new UN sanctions.

Japan also raised the prospect of further sanctions, saying
curbs on North Korea’s oil trade would be on the table.

China, North Korea’s sole major ally, said it strongly condemned
the nuclear test and urged Pyongyang to stop its “wrong” actions.
The United States has repeatedly urged Beijing to do more to rein
in its neighbor.

North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test
on Sunday, which it said was an advanced hydrogen bomb for a
long-range missile.

This marks a dramatic escalation of the regime’s stand-off with
the United States and its allies.

The announcement from Pyongyang came a few hours after
international seismic agencies detected a manmade earthquake near
the North’s test site, which Japanese and South Korean officials
said was around 10 times more powerful than the tremor picked up
after its last nuclear test a year ago.

There was no independent confirmation that the detonation, which
drew swift international condemnation, was a hydrogen bomb rather
than a less powerful atomic device. But Japan’s Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tokyo could not rule out the
possibility that it was a hydrogen bomb.

The test is a direct challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump,
who hours earlier had talked by phone with Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe about the “escalating” nuclear crisis in the region and
has previously vowed to stop North Korea developing nuclear weapons
that could threaten the United States.

North Korea, which carries out its nuclear and missile programs
in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions and
sanctions, said in an announcement on state television that a
hydrogen bomb test ordered by leader Kim Jong Un was a “perfect
success”.

The bomb was designed to be mounted on its newly developed
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the North said.

The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, IAEA Director General
Yukiya Amano said the nuclear test was “an extremely regrettable
act” that was “in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the
international community”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the international
community must react firmly to this “new provocation”, and South
Korean President Moon Jae-in said Seoul would push for strong steps
to further isolate the North, including new UN sanctions.

Japan also raised the prospect of further sanctions, saying
curbs on North Korea’s oil trade would be on the table.

China, North Korea’s sole major ally, said it strongly condemned
the nuclear test and urged Pyongyang to stop its “wrong” actions.
The United States has repeatedly urged Beijing to do more to rein
in its neighbor.