North Korea
announced it had conducted its first successful test of a miniaturized hydrogen
bomb (thermo-nuclear device) after several nations detected a moderate earthquake near a known nuclear
testing site on January 6. If confirmed,
the test would mark North Korea's fourth nuclear test defying United Nations
sanctions and would represent a major step forward to developing nuclear
weapons.
Pyongyang's
announcement came after a 5.1-magnitude quake was detected close to its nuclear
test site at Punggye-ri, indicating a test may have been conducted.
The move
sparked strong condemnations around the world.
The
UN Security Council, South Korea, and Japan all called emergency meetings
to respond to the test, which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe "strongly
condemned" and called "a threat to our country's security [that] is
totally intolerable."
Japan and South
Korea vowed to work through the UN to penalize North Korea, while the White
House said it will take "appropriate" action in response to North
Korea's "provocations."
South Korea's
Defense Ministry also said it is bolstering security and monitoring of North
Korea.
Lassina Zerbo,
head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, called the test
"a grave threat to international peace and security."
In Washington,
White House National Security spokesman Ned Price said: "While we cannot
confirm these claims at this time, we condemn any violation of UN Security
Council resolutions."
"We will
not accept North Korea as a nuclear state," he said in a statement.
NATO called on
North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile programs in a
"complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner" and engage in
"credible and authentic talks on denuclearization."
China's
Foreign Ministry said Beijing did not have advance knowledge of North Korea's
test, adding that it firmly opposes Pyongyang's action.
Ministry
spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China -- a key ally of North Korea -- would
work with the international community on the decentralization of the Korean
peninsula.
In Russia, a
spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was "extremely concerned"
by the claimed test and that Putin had told scientists to look into it.
France called
for a "strong reaction from the international community," while
Germany said it would summon North Korea's ambassador.
Speaking in
Beijing, Britain's Foreign Minister Philip Hammond said the test was "a
grave breach of UN Security Council resolutions and a provocation."
North Korea,
which has long pushed for warheads that can be mounted on a missile capable of
reaching the mainland United States, said it will not give up its nuclear
program as long as the United States maintains "its stance of
aggression."
The rogue
regime claimed it will act as a responsible nuclear state and not use the
weapons unless its sovereignty is infringed, nor will it transfer its nuclear
capabilities to other parties.
The test came
just two days before North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's birthday.
Kim hinted
last month that Pyongyang had already developed a hydrogen -- or
thermonuclear -- bomb -- a claim greeted with skepticism by experts at the
time.
Some experts
still cast doubt on North Korea's latest claim, saying the detected seismic
activity suggests a less powerful device.
The AFP news
agency quoted Crispin Rovere, a nuclear policy and arms control specialist, as
saying the 5.1-magnitude tremor detected at the test site was too small to
support Pyongyang's claim.
"The
seismic data that's been received indicates that the explosion is probably
significantly below what one would expect from an H-bomb test," the
Australia-based expert said on January 6.
Chinese
broadcaster CCTV quoted a Chinese military expert as saying data so far
"cannot support" the claims of a hydrogen bomb test and that further
analysis was required.
North Korea
has carried out three previous nuclear tests -- in 2006, 2009, and 2013 --
which led to a series of UN sanctions against Pyongyang.
With
reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, TASS, dpa, and the BBC
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