North
Korea has announced that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen
bomb test. "With the perfect success of our historic H-bomb, we have
joined the rank of advanced nuclear states," said in a statement, adding
that the test was of a miniaturised device.
Neighbouring
South Korea's National Security Council "strongly condemned" the
test, while Japanese Prime Minister described it as a "great threat"
that represented a gross violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Hydrogen bomb:
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. A hydrogen bomb is more powerful than plutonium weapons, which
is what North Korea used in its three previous underground nuclear tests.
Time Line of North Korea’s Nuclear development:
October
2002: North Korea first acknowledges it has a secret
nuclear weapons programme
October
2006: The first of three underground nuclear explosions
is announced, at a test site called Punggye-ri
May
2009: A month after walking out of international talks
on its nuclear programme, North Korea carries out its second underground
nuclear test
February
2013: A third nuclear test takes place using what state
media calls a "miniaturised and lighter nuclear device"
May
2015: Pyongyang claims to have tested a
submarine-launched missile, which are more difficult to detect than
conventional devices
January
2016: North Korea says it has successfully tested a
hydrogen bomb
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