World reacts after DPRK announces successful hydrogen bomb test

World Today

In this Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, photo, what is believed to be an improved version of the KN-08 ballistic missile is paraded in Pyongyang, in the DPRK, during the 70th anniversary celebrations of its ruling party’s creation. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

DPRK announced Wednesday that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, hours after seismic activity was detected near the site of an earlier nuclear weapons test.

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US reaction to DPRK’s test

There was swift reaction from the United States. The Pentagon, State Department, and White House expressed skepticism about the claims by the DPRK.

CCTV America’s Jessica Stone reports from Washington.

Less than 24 hours after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea announced it tested a hydrogen bomb, the United States said its intelligence does not confirm that.

But U.S. officials have been working the phones and their contacts in a diplomatic frenzy.

China shares a border with the DPRK and has sent representatives to Pyongyang but it’s unclear how much leverage it has.

During his state visit to the United States last September, Chinese President Xi Jinping voiced his country’s commitment to a non-nuclear Korean peninsula.

Now, China, the U.S. and many around the world are calling for an appropriate response.


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The DPRK claimed that they tested a hydrogen bomb. Here’s the more modern way the DPRK may have pulled off their latest nuclear claim.

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Various obstacles to global action on Pyongyang

The claimed nuclear test came despite sanctions and other international pressure. The question now is what Washington, Beijing, and the rest of the international community will do next.

CCTV’s Nathan King reports from Washington.

Crippling economic sanctions against the DPRK have seemingly only emboldened Pyongyang, and that’s been the frustration of the international community for a long time.

The six party talks have been stalled for years. Washington wants the DPRK to freeze all nuclear activity before they’re resumed. And there are differences among the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia.

Washington has asked China to put more pressure on the DPRK but Chinese leverage over its neighbor is limited and there are fears a crisis in Pyongyang could lead to millions of refugees fleeing across the border.

Many western experts on the issue believe that the time for an agreement with the DPRK may have passed and the best strategy is one of containment of the nuclear threat through continued sanctions and isolation.

Others believe the DPRK will only abandon its nuclear program if it is given security guarantees by the US such as a non-aggression pact that would be backed by all the regional powers. Given this latest test, that is highly unlikely.

DPRK residents watch a news broadcast on a video screen outside Pyongyang Railway Station in Pyongyang, in the DPRK, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)

DPRK residents watch a news broadcast on a video screen outside Pyongyang Railway Station in Pyongyang, in the DPRK, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)

In an announcement aired on the nation’s state television station, DPRK said it conducted the test at 10:00 a.m. local time. That was about 9:30 a.m. Beijing time.

China Earthquake Network Center (CENC) said earlier it detected a 4.9-magnitude quake next to the DPRK’s main atomic test site at 9:30 a.m. BJT on Wednesday.

Residents living near the China-DPRK border felt the tremors, and a playground at a high school in Yanji city in Jilin Province even cracked which led to the school to be evacuated.

It’s not clear if the quake was caused by the bomb test, but initial reactions, including from South Korean authorities, suggested that the incident is due to a man-made explosion.

DPRK's Kim Jong-un. (Photo: CFP)

DPRK’s Kim Jong-un. (Photo: CFP)

A hydrogen bomb uses fusion to create a blast far more powerful than plutonium weapons, which is what DPRK has previously tested. The new tests may be proof of DPRK’s advancement in nuclear technology.

Japan PM Abe Shinzo strongly condemned the hydrogen bomb test, saying it is a security threat for Japan. South Korea also condemned DPRK’s hydrogen bomb test, calling it a violation of UNSC resolutions. It vowed Wednesday to take all necessary measures to punish DPRK for carrying out its hydrogen bomb test in defiance of international warnings.

DPRK declared it had nuclear weapons in 2003, and conducted three underground nuclear tests in 2006, 2009, and 2013.

Story by CCTV News