News of an “artificial earthquake,” first detected by South Koreans Tuesday and confirmed by the U.S. Geological Survey on its website, has set the whole world on edge.
Soon after, the North Korean government confirmed the suspected cause of that earthquake in a broadcast. Its scientists had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.
The North Koreans were already a nuclear power but a marginal one. The government successfully tested nuclear weapons three times before, the last time in 2013.
However, the latest test is a much bigger deal as it broadens the regime’s reach and lethality. As the AP deadpans, “a hydrogen bomb is generally more powerful than a nuclear bomb.”
More United Nations sanctions on North Korea are very likely, with American support.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday evening, “We condemn any violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and again call on North Korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments.”
Kirby insisted the United states “will not accept it as a nuclear state,” will get South Korea’s back, and will “respond appropriately to any and all North Korean provocations.”
– Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.
