N. Korea conducts successful powerful 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.