Kim Jong-un says North Korea has miniaturised nuclear warheads. "This can be called a true nuclear deterrent," Kim was quoted as saying.
The North Korean ruling party's newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, carried a large front-page picture of Kim standing in front of a spherical metal object. The picture carried no caption and the paper did not explicitly claim this was part of the miniaturised warhead in question. "Enough time has passed with North Korea's nuclear programme to make it distinctly possible it has miniaturised a device that can fit on a ballistic missile," said Melissa Hanham, an expert on North Korea's WMD programme at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. "I don't know that they could target that missile very well, or what it's range might be, but the claim cannot be dismissed as bluster," Hanham said.
Kim's comments came a day after the North's powerful National Defence Commission threatened pre-emptive nuclear attacks on South Korea and the US mainland, as Seoul and Washington kicked off large-scale joint military exercises. North Korea claims 'successful' hydrogen bomb test after quake. SEOUL: North Korea said Wednesday it had carried out a "successful" hydrogen bomb test, a claim that -- if true -- massively raises the stakes over the hermit state's banned nuclear programme.
In a surprise announcement Pyongyang said it had carried out a hydrogen blast. "The republic's first hydrogen bomb test has been successfully performed at 10:00 am on January 6, 2016, based on the strategic determination of the Workers' Party," a state television news reader said. A hydrogen, or thermonuclear device, uses fusion in a chain reaction that results in a far more powerful explosion than the fission blast generated by uranium or plutonium alone. Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had suggested Pyongyang had already developed a hydrogen bomb -- although the claim was greeted with scepticism by international experts. North Korea has hinted before at the possession of "stronger, more powerful" weapons, but Kim's remarks were believed to be the first direct reference to an H-bomb. North Korea DID launch a HYDROGEN BOMB and cause an earthquake.
North Korea today revealed it had detonated a hydrogen bomb, triggering a 5.1-magnitude earthquake and propelling the dictatorship on a new collision course with world powers.
The thermonuclear weapon is believed to have detonated into the atmosphere at 10am local time at the Punggye-ri test site in the north-east of the country, with tremors felt many miles away. Footage was aired on state television that purported to be of the explosion, showing a thick, black mushroom cloud rising high into the air. In a typically propaganda-heavy statement, the news anchor said the test had been a 'perfect success', elevating the country's 'nuclear might to the next level' and providing it with a weapon to defend against the US and its other enemies.
World leaders lined up to condemn the test as the UN Security Council quickly announced an emergency meeting to discuss its response. Scroll down for video. Tracking KWANGMYONGSONG 3, North Koreas latest rocket. North Korea 'conducts underground nuclear test' in defiance of China, and multiple foes. A third nuclear test has been widely anticipated since DecemberSign North Korea is advancing its nuclear technology, say expertsSuggests country is closer to mounting a bomb on a missile'Greater explosive force' than the 2006 and 2009 tests North Korea a 'serious threat' to U.S., says Defence Secretary Leon Panetta By Daily Mail Reporter Published: 04:09 GMT, 12 February 2013 | Updated: 07:52 GMT, 13 February 2013 World leaders condemned North Korea’s defiant nuclear test yesterday amid fears the Communist pariah state is developing a weapon that could strike the US.
Outgoing US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said North Korea represented a ‘serious threat’, adding: ‘We’ve got to be prepared to deal with that.’ North Korea rocket: Long-range launched days before South Korean presidential elections. Launch at 00.49GMT has sparked international condemnationForeign Secretary William Hague described the move as 'provocative'Washington also labeled North Korean launch a 'highly provocative act'Rocket believed to have been fired from west coast launch pad at 00:49GMTBritish Foreign Secretary condemned the 'provocative' launch Russia said nation had violated UN Security Council resolution By Kerry Mcdermott and Larisa Brown Published: 03:24 GMT, 12 December 2012 | Updated: 20:30 GMT, 12 December 2012.
Will they never learn? Failed missile launch costs North Korea U.S. food aid and yet they are STILL planning a third nuclear test. By Daily Mail Reporter Published: 21:55 GMT, 13 April 2012 | Updated: 01:17 GMT, 15 April 2012 The United States will not go forward with planned food aid to North Korea, the White House said on Friday, after the impoverished nation's unsuccessful launch of a long-range missile which Washington had warned would have consequences. 'Their efforts to launch a missile clearly demonstrates that they could not be trusted to keep their commitments,' White House National Security Council spokesman Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with President Barack Obama to Florida. Withdrawn: United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice waits to talk to the press following the decision to withdraw food aid from North Korea. North Korea to carry out third nuclear test after 2006 and 2009. North Korea carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009Source claims preparations are 'almost complete' By Leon Watson Published: 10:37 GMT, 24 April 2012 | Updated: 06:59 GMT, 25 April 2012 North Korea has almost completed preparations for a third nuclear test following its failed rocket launch, a senior source revealed today.
The isolated and impoverished state sacrificed the chance of closer ties with the U.S. when it launched the long-range rocket on April 13, which resulted in a spectacular failure. Military leaders had hoped to show off their nation's technological prowess by blasting a satellite into orbit in what the West had called a covert test of missile technology and a flagrant violation of international resolutions. North Korea's new commander in chief Kim Jong Un is displayed on a giant screen during a concert on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army today North Korea was censured for the launch by the U.N.