Washington: Defying global public opinion, reclusive North Korea has claimed to have detonated its first hydrogen bomb sending political shock waves around the world and even angering its ally China.
China joined the US, Russia, the European Union and others in condemning the action as a breach of international law and the UN Security Council tentatively scheduled an emergency meeting later on Wednesday at the behest of the US and Japan.
Although North Korea’s claims were taken with a pinch of salt, detection devices around the world recorded a 5.1 seismic event on the country’s northeast coast.
But calling the test a “complete success”, North Korea announced that the test was ordered by its leader Kim Jong-un, who has said for weeks that Pyongyang has the ability to build a thermonuclear weapon. “If there’s no invasion on our sovereignty we will not use nuclear weapon,” the North Korean state news agency said. “This H-bomb test brings us to a higher level of nuclear power.”