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I can't believe Kim Jong Un hasn't been sniped yet. There has to be some reason for it.
I'm talking about the U.S. Or some other sensible world power.I can't believe Kim Jong Un hasn't been sniped yet. There has to be some reason for it.
He controls with fear, people are afraid of the crazy ass guy
The US is sensible? Really?I'm talking about the U.S. Or some other sensible world power.I can't believe Kim Jong Un hasn't been sniped yet. There has to be some reason for it.
He controls with fear, people are afraid of the crazy ass guy
The 15-member council was considering further sanctions against Pyongyang over the surprise nuclear test that UN chief Ban Ki-moon said was "deeply troubling" and "profoundly destabilizing for regional security." The test drew swift condemnation from the international community, including from China, the North's main ally, and Washington, which said it was still studying the precise nature of the test and vowed to "respond appropriately." The announcement also triggered skepticism, with experts suggesting the apparent yield was far too low for a thermonuclear device.
North Korean state television said "the republic's first hydrogen bomb test" had been "successfully performed at 10:00 am (0130 GMT)." "We have now joined the rank of advanced nuclear states," it said, adding that the test was of a miniaturized device. State television showed North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's signed order -- dated December 15 -- to go ahead with the test, with a handwritten exhortation to begin 2016 with the "thrilling sound of the first hydrogen bomb explosion."
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye condemned what she described as a "grave provocation" and called for a strong international response. Ban said he "unequivocally" condemned the underground test and demanded that North Korea "cease any further nuclear activities."
- Push for more sanctions -
What's the difference between an H-bomb and an atomic bomb?
A hydrogen bomb is much more powerful -- more powerful than anything North Korea has tested before. The tests North Korea conducted until now used fission weapons, which break large atoms like plutonium, into smaller atoms. Such weapons can have a devastating impact. Think the atomic bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. But hydrogen bombs use fusion, which take small atoms -- such as hydrogen -- and combine them. The result: a bomb that is hundreds of times more powerful than an atomic bomb.
Here's why: In order to combine the small atoms and start a fusion reaction, such a bomb needs a large amount of energy. And that energy comes from an atomic bomb inside the hydrogen bomb. So, basically, a hydrogen bomb causes two separate explosions.
What is a H-bomb?
Why would North Korea test a hydrogen bomb?
Boosting nuclear capability has been one of the hallmarks of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's rule, said Mike Chinoy, author of "Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis." "I think it does send a signal, again, that the North Koreans are a power to be reckoned with, and they want the rest of the world to take them seriously," Chinoy said.
Why now?
In a signed letter broadcast on Korean media, Kim wrote that he wanted to ring in the new year with, quite literally, a bang. "For the victorious and glorious year of 2016 when the 7th convention of the Workers' Party will be held, make the world look up to our strong nuclear country and labor party by opening the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb!" the letter read.
Does North Korea really have an H-bomb?
President Obama denounced North Korea's claims of a hydrogen bomb test as Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and his South Korea counterpart issued a joint statement opposing North Korea as a nuclear state. In an emergency call Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Obama had said North Korea's test is a despicable act that threatens the region and the international community, Kyodo News reported. Obama also said the United States would take all measures to defend the safety of Japan and its allies.
During the call Abe said that it would be important for the international community to respond decisively to North Korea in order to send a strong message and prevent further provocations. The two leaders also agreed to work to push for new United Nations Security Council sanctions. In a separate statement, Secretary of State John Kerry said North Korea had engaged in a very provocative act that brazenly violated U.N. Security Council resolutions, South Korean outlet News 1 reported.
Kerry stated the United States does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear state. North Korea's nuclear test would strengthen U.S. resolve, Kerry said, adding Washington is to cooperate closely with the U.N. Security Council and member states of the six-party talks in order to take appropriate action. North Korea's claims of a hydrogen bomb test is drawing South Korea and the United States closer in a security alliance designed to defend Seoul from an attack.
Yonhap reported South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Thursday Carter had reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the defense of the peninsula, including all the extended deterrence capability of the United States. Speaking while Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of U.S. forces in Korea, stood nearby, Han said both countries would continue to engage in joint military exercises, and build out custom strategies including a U.S.- South Korea joint defense strategy to detect, defend, disrupt and destroy missiles, also known as 4D.
Obama denounces North Korea claims of hydrogen bomb test
The United States is taking a "wait-and-see" approach to North Korea after Kim Jong Un stated in his New Year's speech he seeks to improve relations between North and South Korea. U.S. State Department spokesman Ori Abramowitz told Voice of America Washington supports improved inter-Korea relations, but that the United States would judge Pyongyang by its actions rather than its words. Abramowitz said the United States urges North Korea to refrain from actions that heighten tensions, and take firm steps toward implementing its international obligations and commitments.
Pyongyang’s state-controlled media outlet KCNA reported Tuesday, local time, Kim inspected a shooting competition held by the Korean People’s Army, his first military activity of 2016.
In his New Year's speech, Kim had said unification is the most urgent and vital task of the nation, adding that the "outside anti-unification forces should be pushed aside to open a new era of independent unification." But Kim may have other priorities – that include strengthening North Korea's military power, in case of war. Pyongyang's state-controlled media outlet KCNA reported Tuesday, local time, Kim inspected a shooting competition held by the Korean People's Army, his first military activity of 2016.
North Korea stated the shooting competition was held in commemoration of the upcoming Seventh Party Congress, adding, "Comrade Kim Jong Un watched the competition from an observation post and listened to reports on the game's progress." According to KCNA, Kim said that North Korea's "reliable soldiers are really good shooters" adding, "Well-trained snipers seem to be always hitting the target." But Kim also said the quality of training needs to be improved.
U.S. taking 'wait-and-see' approach to North Korea
U.S. Navy Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr., the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, issued a statement calling the flight a demonstration of the ironclad U.S. commitment to our allies in South Korea, in Japan, and to the defense of the American homeland."
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flies over Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea
'Steadfast' in defense of South Korea
Lieutenant-General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, the deputy commander of the joint United States-South Korean military command, told reporters after the flight that the U.S. "remains steadfast" in the defense of South Korea "and to maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula, to include extended deterrence provided by our conventional forces and our nuclear umbrella." The U.S. also sent a long-range bomber over South Korea in 2013, shortly after the North carried out its third nuclear test. South Korea's Yonhap news agency says the United States is considering deploying a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the waters off the Korean peninsula.
Kim Jong Un defends nuclear test
Sunday's flight of the B-52 came hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un defended last Wednesday's test of an alleged hydrogen bomb as "the legitimate right of a sovereign state and a fair action that nobody can criticize" during a speech to the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces. In remarks reported Saturday by Pyongyang's official KCNA, Kim said the test was "a self-defensive step for reliably defending" the Korean peninsula from the danger of nuclear war caused by "U.S.-led imperialists." Two days after the test, Seoul resumed anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers along the demilitarized border, which Pyongyang considers an act of war. A South Korean military official told Yonhap that the North has retaliated with loudspeaker broadcasts of its own. North Korea's actions angered traditional ally China and set off a firestorm of criticism in capitals across much of the world.
New UN sanctions
Hours after global sensors detected the blast, the U.N. Security Council met in an emergency session to craft new sanctions against North Korea for its latest violation of U.N. policy. In a statement, the Council said the test posed "a clear threat to international peace and security." International experts say the test measured as too small to qualify as a full hydrogen bomb test, while political analysts say it may have been designed to draw attention to the reclusive communist state ahead of a rare and crucial meeting of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party. In his address, Kim also referenced the upcoming congress, noting that the test and the party meeting are just months apart. The country's 7th party congress, set for May, will be the first such gathering since 1980. Kim described the congress as "a historic turning point" in accomplishing the country's "revolutionary" ideology.
US Warplane Flies Over South Korea in Show of Force to North
The French news agency (AFP) and South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported such assets may include the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan - currently based in Japan - B-2 bombers, nuclear-powered submarines and F-22 stealth fighter jets. Sunday's flight of the B-52 came hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un defended last Wednesday's test of an alleged hydrogen bomb as "the legitimate right of a sovereign state and a fair action that nobody can criticize" during a speech to the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces. South Korea has urged the international community to impose harsh sanctions against the North for the nuclear test, its fourth since 2006.
A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber aircraft approaches the rear of a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft before refueling during a training mission.
Praises scientists
Also Monday, the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency published a photo of Kim posing with hundreds of scientists, workers and other officials who participated in last week's test, praising them for "having glorified" Kim Jong Il, his late father, and Kim Il Sung, his grandfather and state founder. Seoul also continued anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts across the border Monday, while the Unification Ministry announced it would restrict access to Kaesong, a jointly run factory park a few kilometers across the border in North Korea.
Beginning Tuesday, a Unification Ministry official said South Korea would limit the number of South Koreans allowed to stay in the park overnight to the "minimum necessary level," from 800 to 650. "The aim is to minimize the presence in Kaesong, while not hampering actual production activities," the ministry official told Reuters. The industrial complex provides jobs for more than 50,000 North Koreans employed by more than 100 South Korean companies. South Korean President Park Geun-hye is to speak to the nation about raised tensions with the North on Wednesday, a presidential official said.
Sunday's bomber flight
The Institute for Science and International Security said in its report that if the facility is confirmed, it would be critical to the success of any future nuclear deal. According to the report, authorities have always been in doubts about whether North Korea has disclosed all of its nuclear facilities. The secret facility has been reportedly found about 27 miles from the nuclear complex at Yongbyon. The institute’s report also claimed that the site may be at its early stage of the development of centrifuges that refine uranium hexafluoride gas into low-enriched and highly enriched uranium. "It is necessary to identify where North Korea enriches uranium and part of that is understanding where it has done it in the past," David Albright, the institute's president, said.
North Korea's early centrifuge research and development facility was previously believed to have been inside an aircraft part factory inside a mountain next to Panghyon Air Base, the report seen by Reuters stated, adding that it was located using commercial satellite imagery. However, it was unclear if the aircraft part factory was still operational. Tensions have been escalating in the Korean Peninsula, after Pyongyang carried out its fourth underground nuclear test in January followed by a series of missile launches. In November 2010, North Korea revealed the existence of a production-scale gas centrifuge plant at Yongbyon, adding that it had no other such facilities.
The new report, which cited an unidentified official, said that the site could have held between 200 and 300 centrifuges. North Korea's fourth nuclear test and a series of missile launches have been condemned by the international community while the reclusive country was slapped with harsh sanctions by the United Nations Security Council. Last month, Pyongyang criticized the U.S. for its joint military drills with South Korean, holding Washington responsible for nuclear war threat on the Korean Peninsula. The North also reportedly said that the U.S. did not have any right to talk about its denuclearization — something that Washington has been seeking from the isolated country.
North Korea’s Secret Facility Likely Found At Early Stages Of Building Nuclear Weapons, Report Says
South Korea agreed earlier this month to the deployment of an anti-missile system, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), to provide defensive capabilities against its neighbor to the north. The United States had been suggesting the move for years, but Seoul only came on board in the face of increasingly frequent missile and nuclear tests by North Korea. Yet there are some who see the move as bearing far greater significance than a simple shield between two halves of a divided nation.
China, in particular, has decried the move, saying it will destabilize an already fragile region and negatively affect “world peace.” The question, then, is whether the defensive capabilities THAAD provides will outweigh the diplomatic ripples – and other reactions – it may provoke. “I certainly don’t believe THAAD or any missile defense is a panacea,” says Jonathan Pollack, Interim SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. “But if it inhibits North Korea, under some extreme circumstances, from using its capabilities, and instills some confidence in the government of South Korea to defend key assets and population areas in a more integrated fashion, then it’ll be money well spent.”
US Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency
One of the fundamental questions: How much of a threat does North Korea actually pose to South Korea? The simple answer to that question is that nobody seems to know, bar the regime in Pyongyang, but the rhetoric – and continued missile and nuclear tests – seems intended to instill fear. The latest round of ballistic missile tests by North Korea on Tuesday, seen as a reaction to South Korea's decision to deploy THAAD, came with the explicit explanation, according to the North’s official KCNA news agency, that they were simulating “preemptive strikes at ports and airfields in the operational theater in South Korea.” This was just the latest in a series of missile tests by Pyongyang, accompanied by a nuclear test earlier this year. In the face of such activities, as Mr. Pollack says, while it is difficult to fathom how real the threat truly is, “to assume benign intentions would be imprudent.”
In seeking to counteract that threat, however real it may be, THAAD is a decent option, says Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, citing a perfect intercept record in trials to date. Yet, as Dr. Karako is keen to emphasize, missile defense systems are not intended to “sit and play catch.” That is to say, they may not be able to prevent every missile from finding its target in the event of an attack, but integrated into the overall military structure, they can provide valuable support. “In the event of an attack, the aim [of a missile defense system] is to defend critical infrastructure,” says Karako. “North Korea wouldn’t be able to decapitate the military in the south, and so THAAD would buy time to bring the full military forces to bear.”
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Then the Kim regime threatened to rain missiles on Hawaii and Guam with the hope, it is widely thought, that the world would accept the North as a normal, nuclear power. US policymakers believe China, on whom the North is heavily dependent, can exercise leverage and help the US get North Korea to step into line. During an April visit to Beijing, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey said the Chinese were working to help with the North, “But, I didn’t gain any insights into particularly how they would do that,” he said. Many Asia watchers are dubious that China either can or will take decisive action to push North Korea. Here are five underlying reasons why:
1. China needs friends
China wants to fulfill international expectations and live up to its emerging status as a great power, but it has a long history with North Korea. China might be nervous, say analysts, that the North could actually get serious one-on-one talks with Washington and flip loyalties. Many Chinese look at North Korea – isolated, poor, ideological – and see themselves 30 years ago. Back then China and the North were as “close as lips and teeth” – fellow traveling revolutionaries and former war partners against the imperialists. But the world is changing. When Beijing looks around Asia, it can see some abrupt flips of position and loyalty: Myanmar, one of China’s previous pets, suddenly looks like it may come out of its dark cocoon and make friends with others. Vietnam, long a Chinese fellow-traveler, has turned away as well. China may not want to lose such a strategic card and partner as the North.
1 of 5
China and Japan have nothing to fear from N.Korea.North Korea says it has conducted hydrogen bomb test - CNN.com
A severe and comparable power in Asia. Korea just panicked the free world and non-communist states.
South Korea - Japan and China had better take notice.
Shadow 355
North Korea conducted the test on Friday and said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat that rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain. The test showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was unwilling to alter course, and that tougher sanctions and pressure were needed to apply "unbearable pain on the North to leave no choice but to change", South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said. "North Korea's nuclear capability is growing and speeding to a considerable level, considering the fifth nuclear test was the strongest in scale and the interval has quickened substantially," Yun told a ministry meeting convened to discuss the test.
A cut-out of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set on fire during an anti-North Korea rally in central Seoul, South Korea
The blast, on the 68th anniversary of North Korea's founding, drew global condemnation. The United States said it would work with partners to impose new sanctions, and called on China to use its influence - as North Korea's main ally - to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear program. In Beijing on Saturday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui told North Korea's ambassador to China, Ji Jae Ryong, that the test was "not conducive to the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula", China's Foreign Ministry said. "China urges North Korea not to take any more actions that could exacerbate tensions, and return as soon as possible to the correct direction of denuclearisation," Zhang said.
But Russia was skeptical that more sanctions were the answer, while China was silent on the prospect of a new U.N. Security Council resolution, although state media did carry commentaries criticizing the North. Under 32-year-old leader Kim, North Korea has sped up development of its nuclear and missile programs, despite U.N. sanctions that were tightened in March and have further isolated the impoverished country.
DENUNCIATION
South Korea's president called the detonation, which Seoul estimated was the North's biggest-ever in explosive yield, an act of "fanatic recklessness." Japan called North Korea an "outlaw nation." North Korea's boast of a technologically game-changing nuclear test defied both tough international sanctions and long-standing diplomatic pressure to curb its nuclear ambitions. It will raise serious worries in many world capitals that North Korea has moved another step closer to its goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could one day strike the U.S. mainland. Seoul vowed to boost psychological warfare efforts by increasing the number of propaganda loudspeakers along the rivals' border, the world's most heavily armed, and the number of hours of anti-North Korean broadcasts.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang
Hours after South Korea noted unusual seismic activity near North Korea's northeastern nuclear test site, the North said in its state-run media that a test had "finally examined and confirmed the structure and specific features of movement of (a) nuclear warhead that has been standardized to be able to be mounted on strategic ballistic rockets." "The standardization of the nuclear warhead will enable (North Korea) to produce at will and as many as it wants a variety of smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power," North Korea said. "This has definitely put on a higher level (the North's) technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets." North Korea, led by a third-generation dictatorship and wary of outsiders, protects its nuclear program as a closely guarded state secret, and the claims about advancements made in its testing could not be independently verified. But they center on a technological mystery that has long bedeviled outside experts: How far has North Korea gotten in efforts to consistently shrink down nuclear warheads so they can fit on long-range missiles?
South Korea's main spy agency told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing after the test that it does not think North Korea currently has the ability to develop nuclear weapons that can be mounted on ballistic missiles, but intelligence officials expressed worries that the North's efforts to do so are progressing more quickly than previously thought, said Kim Byungkee, a lawmaker from the opposition Minjoo Party. South Korean President Park Geun-hye strongly condemned the test, saying in a statement that it showed the "fanatic recklessness of the Kim Jong Un government as it clings to nuclear development." Kim is the North Korean leader. Park's office said she spoke with U.S. President Barack Obama about the test by phone from Laos, where she attended a regional summit. Park said South Korea will employ all available measures to put more pressure on North Korea, which had previously conducted nuclear tests every three to four years.
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During a closed-door meeting on Friday, the council strongly condemned the test and agreed to begin drafting a new resolution under article 41 of the UN Charter, which provides for sanctions. “The members of the Security Council will begin to work immediately on appropriate measures under article 41 in a Security Council resolution,” New Zealand’s UN ambassador Gerard van Bohemen, who holds the council’s rotating presidency, said after the talks. South Korea, the US, Japan, Russia and China all condemned the blast at the Punggye-ri nuclear site: North Korea’s most powerful yet at 10 kilotons. In Seoul, dozens of protesters burned an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and North Korean flags and called for “strong retaliation,” including pre-emptive attacks on North Korea’s nuclear complex. “Eliminate Kim Jong-un!” and “Destroy North Korea’s nuclear weapons!” the activists shouted.
Some newspapers were equally scathing. “South Korea left unguarded before nuclear maniac,” read the banner headline of the top-selling Chosun Ilbo. However, North Korea’s ruling party newspaper yesterday said it would not submit to US nuclear “blackmail,” and described South Korean President Park Geun-hye as a “dirty prostitute” for working with US forces. “Gone are the days never to return when the US could make a unilateral nuclear blackmail against the DPRK,” said Rodong Sinmun, using the country’s official name. The Security Council met at the request of Japan, South Korea and the US to agree on a response, despite resistance from Pyongyang’s ally China to calls for tougher measures.
After the meeting, China’s UN ambassador Liu Jieyi sidestepped questions about Beijing’s support for sanctions. “We are opposed to testing and we believe that it is more urgent than ever to work together to ensure denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” Liu said. “All sides should refrain from mutual provocation and any action that might exacerbate the situation.” North Korea has been hit by five sets of UN sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006. After Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test, the council in March adopted the toughest sanctions resolution to date targeting North Korea’s trade in minerals and tightening banking restrictions.
UN to begin work on new North Korea sanctions - Taipei Times
No. Korea speeding up their nuclear capability...
South Korea says North's nuclear capability 'speeding up', calls for action
Sep 10 2016 - South Korea said on Saturday that North Korea's nuclear capability is expanding fast, echoing alarm around the world over the isolated state's fifth and biggest nuclear test, carried out in defiance of U.N. sanctions.
North Korea conducted the test on Friday and said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat that rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain. The test showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was unwilling to alter course, and that tougher sanctions and pressure were needed to apply "unbearable pain on the North to leave no choice but to change", South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said. "North Korea's nuclear capability is growing and speeding to a considerable level, considering the fifth nuclear test was the strongest in scale and the interval has quickened substantially," Yun told a ministry meeting convened to discuss the test.
A cut-out of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set on fire during an anti-North Korea rally in central Seoul, South Korea
The blast, on the 68th anniversary of North Korea's founding, drew global condemnation. The United States said it would work with partners to impose new sanctions, and called on China to use its influence - as North Korea's main ally - to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear program. In Beijing on Saturday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui told North Korea's ambassador to China, Ji Jae Ryong, that the test was "not conducive to the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula", China's Foreign Ministry said. "China urges North Korea not to take any more actions that could exacerbate tensions, and return as soon as possible to the correct direction of denuclearisation," Zhang said.
But Russia was skeptical that more sanctions were the answer, while China was silent on the prospect of a new U.N. Security Council resolution, although state media did carry commentaries criticizing the North. Under 32-year-old leader Kim, North Korea has sped up development of its nuclear and missile programs, despite U.N. sanctions that were tightened in March and have further isolated the impoverished country.
DENUNCIATION
See also:
Seoul: North Korea's 5th Nuke Test 'Fanatic Recklessness'
Sep 09, 2016 — North Korea said it conducted a "higher level" nuclear test explosion on Friday that will allow it to finally build "at will" an array of stronger, smaller and lighter nuclear weapons. It was the North's fifth atomic test and the second in eight months.
South Korea's president called the detonation, which Seoul estimated was the North's biggest-ever in explosive yield, an act of "fanatic recklessness." Japan called North Korea an "outlaw nation." North Korea's boast of a technologically game-changing nuclear test defied both tough international sanctions and long-standing diplomatic pressure to curb its nuclear ambitions. It will raise serious worries in many world capitals that North Korea has moved another step closer to its goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could one day strike the U.S. mainland. Seoul vowed to boost psychological warfare efforts by increasing the number of propaganda loudspeakers along the rivals' border, the world's most heavily armed, and the number of hours of anti-North Korean broadcasts.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang
Hours after South Korea noted unusual seismic activity near North Korea's northeastern nuclear test site, the North said in its state-run media that a test had "finally examined and confirmed the structure and specific features of movement of (a) nuclear warhead that has been standardized to be able to be mounted on strategic ballistic rockets." "The standardization of the nuclear warhead will enable (North Korea) to produce at will and as many as it wants a variety of smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power," North Korea said. "This has definitely put on a higher level (the North's) technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets." North Korea, led by a third-generation dictatorship and wary of outsiders, protects its nuclear program as a closely guarded state secret, and the claims about advancements made in its testing could not be independently verified. But they center on a technological mystery that has long bedeviled outside experts: How far has North Korea gotten in efforts to consistently shrink down nuclear warheads so they can fit on long-range missiles?
South Korea's main spy agency told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing after the test that it does not think North Korea currently has the ability to develop nuclear weapons that can be mounted on ballistic missiles, but intelligence officials expressed worries that the North's efforts to do so are progressing more quickly than previously thought, said Kim Byungkee, a lawmaker from the opposition Minjoo Party. South Korean President Park Geun-hye strongly condemned the test, saying in a statement that it showed the "fanatic recklessness of the Kim Jong Un government as it clings to nuclear development." Kim is the North Korean leader. Park's office said she spoke with U.S. President Barack Obama about the test by phone from Laos, where she attended a regional summit. Park said South Korea will employ all available measures to put more pressure on North Korea, which had previously conducted nuclear tests every three to four years.
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The test confirmed the explosive power and other characteristics of a “nuclear warhead that has been standardized to be able to be mounted on” its ballistic missiles, the North’s nuclear weapons institute said in a statement on Friday. A statement from the South Korean military also said that an artificial tremor, registered as magnitude 5, had originated from Punggye-ri in northeastern North Korea, where the North has conducted its four previous underground nuclear tests. A senior official at the Defense Ministry later told reporters that it had concluded that a nuclear detonation had caused the tremor.
The ministry estimated the explosive yield was equivalent to 10 kilotons of TNT, the most powerful detonation unleashed in a North Korean nuclear test so far, according to the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity. The South’s government estimated the North’s last nuclear test, conducted in January, at 4.8 magnitude with an explosive yield of six to nine kilotons. (By comparison, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 exploded with 15 kilotons of energy.) North Korea’s first nuclear detonation, conducted in 2006, was largely dismissed as a fizzle, registering only as a 3.9 magnitude tremor with about one kiloton of energy. But its nuclear devices have steadily improved, producing bigger explosions with stronger seismic tremors in subsequent tests.
At the same time, the North has launched a series of ballistic missiles with growing ranges that it said were intended to carry nuclear warheads, though doubts persisted that the country had mastered the technology needed to produce a nuclear warhead small and sturdy enough to travel a long distance through Earth’s atmosphere. On Friday, North Korea reported a major advance in its efforts. “The standardization of the nuclear warhead will enable the D.P.R.K. to produce at will and as many as it wants a variety of smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power,” it said in a statement on Friday, using the initials of the country’s official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “This has definitely put on a higher level the D.P.R.K.’s technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles.”
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn of South Korea called an emergency meeting of top security officials, while his boss, President Park Geun-hye, cut short a visit to Laos, the president’s office said. The episode unfolded less than a day after President Obama concluded the final Asian tour of his presidency and highlighted the conundrums that the North Korean threat presents to the United States and China, which have often been at odds over how to respond to the bellicose acts of the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un. In Washington, Ned Price, a National Security Council spokesman, said: “We are aware of seismic activity on the Korean Peninsula in the vicinity of a known North Korean nuclear test site. We are monitoring and continuing to assess the situation in close coordination with our regional partners.”
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North Korea has sparked fears of a Third World War after launching a nuclear test that caused an earthquake. Superpowers America and China immediately condemned the rogue state after news was revealed it had conducted its FIFTH nuclear test. While America is traditionally the communist state's enemy, China has been its closest ally but the statements by the nations today sparked fears of a possible war. US President Barack Obama said any provocative actions by North Korea would have "serious consequences". Obama had been briefed on board Air Force One by National Security Adviser Susan Rice about reported seismic activity near North Korea's nuclear test site earlier on Friday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.
Obama reiterated the unbreakable US commitment to the security of its allies in Asia and around the world, Earnest China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it was resolutely opposed to North Korea's latest nuclear test and strongly urges North Korea to stop taking any actions that will worsen the situation. China will stick to its aim of denuclearising the Korean peninsula and uphold the six-party talks process to resolve the issue, the ministry added in a short statement. France has also condemned a nuclear test conducted by North Korea on Friday, hours after seismic monitors detected a blast near the secretive country's nuclear test site.
The 5.3 magnitude quake was detected near North Korea's known nuclear test site, where it detonated its fourth nuclear device in January. The seismic event occurred around 9.30am local time, according to the US Geological Survey . The tremor was detected on the surface with zero depth. Naturally occurring earthquakes strike below ground. Its epicenter was 11 miles east-northeast of Sungjibaegam, the USGS said. The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC)also reported that the earthquake was due to a suspected explosion. North Korea later confirmed the blast was its fifth nuclear test.
France has also condemned a nuclear test conducted by North Korea on Friday, hours after seismic monitors detected a blast near the secretive country's nuclear test site. The 5.3 magnitude quake was detected near North Korea's known nuclear test site, where it detonated its fourth nuclear device in January. The seismic event occurred around 9.30am local time, according to the US Geological Survey . The tremor was detected on the surface with zero depth. Naturally occurring earthquakes strike below ground. Its epicenter was 11 miles east-northeast of Sungjibaegam, the USGS said.
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Although the North’s proclaimed advancements could not be verified — and Pyongyang has a track record of exaggeration — the test appeared to mark another step toward North Korea’s goal of putting a nuclear warhead on a weapon capable of reaching the mainland United States. Friday’s test — the North’s second this year — underscored the ability of Kim Jong Un’s regime to make progress on its nuclear and missile programs despite waves of international sanctions and isolation. “This is our response to hostile powers, including the United States. We are sending out a message that if the enemies attack us, we can counterattack," Ri Chun Hee, a veteran North Korean newsreader, said on state television. "We will continue taking measures to protect our dignity and our right to exist from the American threat." The test also appeared to be much bigger than North Korea's previous four detonations since its first in 2006.
The U.S. Geological Survey detected an artificial 5.3-magnitude earthquake near North Korea's nuclear test site at 9 a.m. local time on Friday, a national holiday marking the 68th anniversary of the formation of the communist regime by Kim Il Sung, the current leader’s grandfather. “This is clearly a nuclear test,” said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia nonproliferation program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif. He estimated the size at between 10 and 20 kilotons. The North’s last nuclear test, carried out in January, was about six kilotons.
The test happened just a few hours after President Obama's plane stopped in Japan to refuel on his way home from Laos, where he attended a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The president talked to South Korea's president, Park Geun-hye, who was still in Laos, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. In a White House statement Friday, Obama called the test “a grave threat” to regional and international security and noted Pyongyang’s claims to be developing nuclear warheads capable of hitting the United States and its allies. “The United States does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state,” Obama said. “Far from achieving its stated national security and economic development goals, North Korea’s provocative and destabilizing actions have instead served to isolate and impoverish its people through its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities.” He said the latest test shows that North Korea “has no interest in being a responsible member of the international community.”
After consulting by phone with the South Korean and Japanese leaders, Obama said they would work with the U.N. Security Council and international community to impose “significant” penalties, including new sanctions. He also vowed to push ahead with deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea and pledged to provide “extended deterrence, guaranteed by the full spectrum of U.S. defense capabilities.” At a news conference Thursday in Laos, Obama dismissed China’s objections to the THAAD deployment, saying he told Chinese President Xi Jinping “that we cannot have a situation where we’re unable to defend either ourselves or our treaty allies against increasingly provocative behavior and escalating capabilities by the North Koreans.” Obama added: “And I indicated to him that if the THAAD bothered him, particularly since it has no purpose other than defensive and does not change the strategic balance between the United States and China, that they need to work with us more effectively to change Pyongyang’s behavior.”
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What low IQ posters like Waltky do not realize is that the bomb N Korea is testing is Chinese. N Korea is just a proxy for China. It is China which is carrying out covert nuclear tests through N Korea while giving a false appearance of complying with CTBT.
What low IQ posters like Waltky do not realize is that the bomb N Korea is testing is Chinese. N Korea is just a proxy for China. It is China which is carrying out covert nuclear tests through N Korea while giving a false appearance of complying with CTBT.
Proof?
What low IQ posters like Waltky do not realize is that the bomb N Korea is testing is Chinese. N Korea is just a proxy for China. It is China which is carrying out covert nuclear tests through N Korea while giving a false appearance of complying with CTBT.
Proof?
.... Are you a Chinese agent?
