Another hydrogen bomb test was conducted successfully by North Korea near the border of China, the BBC reported. Kim Jong-un called it as the most powerful H bomb test so far.
According to the state-run news agency (KCNA), the North would want to tell the world that it has the capability to produce powerful nuclear weapons on a massive scale. Prior to the hydrogen bomb test, the Korean Central News Agency showed images of the North’s leader conducting inspections on the new weapon being loaded cautiously into an intercontinental ballistic missile.
What the nuke experts have to say
There are experts who remain skeptical about the pictures of Kim Jong-un watching a Hydrogen bomb loaded into new ICBM. Among them is Melissa Hanham, who is a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
Analysts like Hanham doubted North Korea’s ability to mount a nuke warhead on an ICBM. They think that it is impossible for the warhead to endure the immense heat that is produced on the missile's re-entry into the atmosphere.
But regardless of their skepticism, the North Korean government remains confident in its nuke missile program. KCNA reported that North Korea possesses both the materials and expertise in producing nuke weapons on a massive scale.
The yield of North Korea’s hydrogen bomb
The North boasted that the attack of its H-bomb on electrical grids is completely devastating. Its explosive power can be as high as hundreds of kiloton. It can even be detonated at high altitudes for extremely powerful electromagnetic pulse, the state-run news agency reported.
The electromagnetic pulse (EMP) waves are effective in disabling all types of electrical devices.
But the greatest destruction of the EMP waves can be inflicted on the electrical grid and long-haul communications. A single blast can most definitely shut down power and communications across thousands of kilometers.
This is not actually the first missile launch the North has conducted this year. Pyongyang has already launched 2 ballistic missiles.
Analysts believed that North Korea would want to demonstrate its intercontinental capabilities.
The report of the state-run news agency on Sunday about North Korea’s new nuke power has caused tensions not only on the Korean Peninsula, but across Japan and the United States. And if the North will launch another hydrogen bomb test, it might finally get more than what it bargained for.
