North Korea Claims 'Successful' Hydrogen Bomb Test
North Korea said Wednesday it conducted a "successful" hydrogen bomb test.
The announcement on state television came less than a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed his country had developed a hydrogen bomb. The United States and others quickly discounted that claim.
The White House said it could not confirm the North Korean test, but that it condemns any violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement the U.S. has consistently made clear it will not accept a nuclear North Korea.
A map locating North Korea's nuclear facilities.
"We will continue to protect and defend our allies in the region, including the Republic of Korea, and will respond appropriately to any and all North Korean provocations," Price said.
The Security Council has issued multiple resolutions calling on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. The 15-member body is due to meet later Wednesday to discuss the latest developments.
The test prompted emergency national security meetings in South Korea and Japan.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye called the test a "grave provocation" that threatens her country's future.
"The government should closely cooperate with the international community to make sure that North Korea pays the corresponding price for the nuclear test," Park said in comments quoted by Yonhap.
Cho Tae-yong, a senior security official in Park's office, said North Korea had ignored repeated warnings not to go ahead with another nuclear test.
A hydrogen bomb, also known as a thermonuclear bomb, is far more powerful than an atomic bomb.
North Korea conducted three previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013. All of them took place at the Punggye-ri site, the same area where several monitoring agencies detected man-made earthquake activity on Wednesday morning.
Lassina Zerbo, the head of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test ban Treaty Organization, said if the test is confirmed, it represents a "grave threat to international peace and security." He also urged North Korea to observe the moratorium on nuclear testing.
VOA NEWS
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