Today, North Korea conducted a nuclear test, it’s sixth.
North Korea said it conducted a sixth and significantly larger nuclear test Sunday, stepping up pressure on President Donald Trump in what is shaping up to be his biggest foreign policy crisis.
In a televised statement, North Korea described the underground explosion, which triggered a large earthquake, as a “perfect success in the test of a hydrogen bomb for an ICBM.” Pyongyang said “the creditability of the operation of the nuclear warhead is fully guaranteed.”
The test came just hours after leader Kim Jong Un showed off what he described as a hydrogen bomb capable of being mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The explosion at the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri in North Korea’s mountainous northeast triggered an initial magnitude-6.3 earthquake, followed by a magnitude-4.1 temblor that was possibly caused by a structural collapse, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
There are reports that this was some sort of “two stage” bomb. I have no idea how this would work as the first explosion would vaporize the second warhead before it could detonate.
This tweet seems the more likely explanation.
The second earthquake measuring 4.6 magnitude may have been tunnel collapse, @USGS says https://t.co/DDywKuSgFr pic.twitter.com/Di6VScelEF
— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) September 3, 2017
This was, by far, the North’s largest nuclear bomb test ever.
And the North Koreans went to great extremes to make sure everyone knew this was a miniaturized weapon capable of being carried on an ICBM. The short message was that Washington, DC, is now as vulnerable to a nuclear strike as Pyongyang.
Full statement from N. Korea on today's nuclear test. pic.twitter.com/mVciIpBgib
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) September 3, 2017
Whatever nuclear device #NorthKorea detonated don't assume it was the compact warhead design shown pic.twitter.com/Zlt8lliM1d
— Joseph Dempsey (@JosephHDempsey) September 3, 2017
President Trump was on Twitter:
North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017
..North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017
South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017
A meeting of regional allies is underway to consider what to do next…s*** and go blind is probably high on the list.
(LEAD) Allies discuss 'effective military response' to N. Korea's nuke test https://t.co/6eSoVM5Axg
— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) September 3, 2017
Rather than an actual technological advance, the odds are that this test was of a traditional weapon and it should be seen as a follow on to the firing of an IRBM across Japan earlier. This ups the ante but doesn’t really do anything they haven’t done before so they don’t expect any real negative consequences. Russia and China have both signaled that they will not support any new UN sanctions so look for Treasury to start imposing unilateral sanctions on foreign companies with ties to North Korea.
Don’t look for military action unless we start moving US dependents home.
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