Tremors were detected in North Korea on 3 September, raising fears that the Kim Jong-un-led nation has conducted another nuclear test. This came after North Korean defence officials said the country had developed an advanced hydrogen bomb that possesses “great destructive power” as US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked by phone about the escalating nuclear crisis.
Subsequently, Pyangyong said it had successfully tested an advanced hydrogen bomb.
Trump Reacts to Test
US President Donald Trump said on Twitter on Sunday that the United States was considering cutting trade to any country doing business with North Korea.
Trump slammed the nuclear tests, calling North Korea a ‘rogue nation’.
China, Japan Slam Test
China's Foreign Ministry on Sunday urged North Korea to stop its "wrong" actions, after Pyongyang said it successfully tested an advanced hydrogen bomb.
The ministry said in a statement on its website that China resolutely opposed and strongly condemned North Korea's actions, and urged the country to respect UN Security Council resolutions.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga too that sanctions options against North Korea in the wake of that country’s nuclear test include restrictions on oil-products trade.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council has called an emergency meeting on Monday at 10 am (1400 GMT) at the request of the United States, Japan, Britain, France and South Korea, the US mission to the United Nations said in a statement.
N Korea Announces H-Bomb
The 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), putting many parts of the mainland United States within range.
Under third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has been pursuing a nuclear device small and light enough to fit on a long-range ballistic missile, without affecting its range and making it capable of surviving re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
Also Read: US, North Korea on the Verge of Large-Scale Conflict, Warns Putin
North Korea, which carries out its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions, “recently succeeded” in making a more advanced hydrogen bomb, KCNA 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.
“All components of the H-bomb were homemade and all the processes ... were put on the Juche basis, thus enabling the country to produce powerful nuclear weapons as many as it wants,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
Juche is North Korea's homegrown ideology of self-reliance that is a mix of Marxism and extreme nationalism preached by state founder Kim Il Sung, the current leader's grandfather. It says its weapons programmes are needed to counter US aggression.
Kim Jong Un, who visited the country's nuclear weapons institute, “watched an H-bomb to be loaded into new ICBM” and “set forth tasks to be fulfilled in the research into nukes,” KCNA said.
Pictures released by the agency showed Kim inspecting a silver-coloured warhead in the visit accompanied by nuclear scientists, with a concept diagram of its Hwasong-14 long-range ballistic missile seen hanging on the wall.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been shooting since last month when North Korea threatened to launch missiles into the sea near the strategically located US Pacific territory of Guam after Trump said Pyongyang would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States.
North Korea further raised regional tensions on Tuesday by launching an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, drawing international condemnation.
The KCNA report made no mention of plans for a sixth nuclear test.
Trump, Abe Meet in the Face of “Escalating Tensions”
Trump and Abe spoke by phone and said that in the wake of an “escalating” situation with North Korea, close cooperation between their countries and with South Korea was needed, Abe told reporters. They also agreed that pressure on North Korea must be raised, Abe said.
Trump has told Abe that the United States, as an ally, was 100 percent with Japan, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura said to the reporters.
The United States has repeatedly urged China, the North's sole major ally, to do more to rein in its neighbour.
Also Read: Post North Korea’s Provocations, US Conducts Missile Defense Test
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