North Korea Says It Just Tested A Hydrogen Bomb — Here's What We Know
Late Tuesday, a "man-made" earthquake was reported in North Korea, in the vicinity of one of the country's nuclear test sites. The North Korean regime has now announced that the earthquake resulted from a hydrogen bomb test — the country's first, if true. Here's what we know.
Seismological Centers Reported A 'Man-Made' Earthquake Tuesday Evening
The United States Geological Service, meanwhile, said it had detected a 5.1 magnitude quake. South Korean meteorological officials said the epicentre of the quake was 49 kms (30 miles) from Punggye-ri in North Hamgyong province, where North Korea has conducted nuclear tests in the past… "We suspect a man-made earthquake and are analysing the scale and epicentre of the quake with the geoscience and mineral resource institute of South Korea," a Korea meteorological administration official told Reuters in the South Korean capital Seoul.
The Country Announced That The Quake Resulted From A Hydrogen Bomb Test
North Korea announced on state television that it tested its first hydrogen bomb. The announcement followed a magnitude 5.1 earthquake that shook near the rogue nation's nuclear test site, Pyunggye-ri at 10 a.m. local time. The hydrogen bomb test was "an act of self defense" against foreign threats, the announcement from the North said.
[NPR]
If True, It's A Big Deal
North Korea says it has successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test, which if confirmed, will be a first for the reclusive regime and a significant advancement for its military ambitions. A hydrogen bomb is more powerful than plutonium weapons, which is what North Korea used in its three previous underground nuclear tests.
[CNN]
But Experts Aren't Convinced
Bruce Bennett, an analyst with the Rand Corporation, was among those casting doubts on Pyongyang's test: "The bang they should have gotten would have been 10 times greater than what they're claiming.
"So Kim Jong-un is either lying, saying they did a hydrogen test when they didn't, they just used a little bit more efficient fission weapon – or the hydrogen part of the test really didn't work very well or the fission part didn't work very well."
[BBC]
It Was Likely An Atomic, Not Hydrogen, Bomb Test
The test likely had a yield of between 1,000 and 30,000 tons of TNT — a similar level to its last test in 2013, according to Li Bin, a senior associate focused on nuclear policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The yield — comparable to that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima — fell well short of the destructive power of a hydrogen bomb, which would equal at least a 50,000 tons of TNT, Li said.
The Independent has a good primer on the difference between the two nuclear weapons.
The big difference is that atomic bombs use nuclear fission, which splits a bigger atom into two smaller ones, to create their energy. Hydrogen bombs use fusion, which is done by fusing two or more atoms into a bigger one. Hydrogen bombs have a fission weapon inside too, which is used to trigger the energy release from the fusion part of the bomb.
North Korea Claimed To Have A Hydrogen Bomb In December
The White House has dismissed a suggestion by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that his country possesses a hydrogen bomb. The country was "ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb", state news agency KCNA quoted him as saying. If true, the development would mark a significant advancement in North Korean nuclear capabilities. But White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Washington's evidence "calls into serious question" Pyongyang's claim.
[BBC]
It Will Be A While Before Other Nations Can Confirm The Hydrogen Bomb Claim
It may be weeks or longer before detectors sent aloft by the United States and other powers can determine what kind of test was conducted.
The White House tweeted the following statement regarding the test:
