NORTH KOREA has conducted a powerful hydrogen bomb test, the country has claimed.
The defiant and surprising move, if confirmed, would be a huge jump in Pyongyang’s quest to improve its nuclear arsenal.
A “miniaturised” hydrogen bomb was tested in a “perfect success”, elevating the country’s “nuclear might to the next level”, reports said.
The US Geological Survey measured an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 – indicating the test may have taken place.
South Korea’s defence ministry said that it was bolstering its security posture in response.
There has long been scepticism by Washington and nuclear experts on past North Korean claims about H-bombs, which are much more powerful, and much more difficult to make, than atomic bombs.
But a confirmed test would be seen as extremely worrying and lead to a strong push for new, tougher sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations. The UN Security Council has tentatively scheduled an emergency meeting.
It would also further worsen already abysmal relations between Pyongyang and its neighbours.
The move has heightened fears that North Korean scientists and engineers are nearing their goal of building a bomb small enough to place on a missile that can reach the US mainland.
Hydrogen bombs work by using radiation from a nuclear fission explosion to set off a fusion reaction, which in turn creates a powerful blast and radioactivity.
