North Korea hydrogen bomb test

North Korea yesterday conducted a 'successful'
hydrogen bomb test, Pyongyang has confirmed.
The detonation of the thermonuclear weapon
triggered a 5.1 magnitude earthquake when it
exploded at 10am local time at the Punggye-ri test
site in the north east of the country, the tremors of
which were felt many miles away.
Its ignition ends weeks of speculation that leader Kim
Jong-Un had developed such a weapon, which is
lighter yet even more powerful than the fission blast
generated by nuclear bombs containing uranium or
plutonium alone.
'The republic's first hydrogen bomb test has been
successfully performed at 10am on January 6,
2016, based on the strategic determination of the
Workers' Party,' a state television news reader
announced five-and-a-half hours after the blast.
Reading a typically propaganda-heavy statement,
the anchor confirmed that a 'miniaturised' hydrogen
bomb had been detonated in an operation that was
deemed a 'perfect success'.
She added that in doing so, North Korea 'joined the
rank of advanced nuclear states' and had elevated
their 'nuclear might to the next level', providing a
weapon to defend against the United States - who
they claim to have 'numerous and humongous
nuclear weapons' - and its other enemies.
The broadcast concluded by saying: 'If there is no
invasion on our sovereignty we will not use nuclear
weapon. This H-bomb test brings us to a higher
level of nuclear power.'
The successful detonation marks a major step in
North Korea's nuclear development and is bound to
cause considerable anxiety to neighbouring
countries.
Last month, Kim Jong-Un had suggested
Pyongyang had already developed a hydrogen bomb
- although the claim was greeted with scepticism by
international experts.