North Korea claims test of miniaturized nuclear warhead
A briefing about the test at the nuclear site at Punggye-ri, North Hamgyong Province, is held at the Korea Meteorological Administration. / Yonhap
Pyongyang conducts fifth and most powerful experiment
By Jun Ji-hye
North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test, Friday, claiming to have detonated a warhead successfully.
The explosion was estimated at 10 kilotons, which is equivalent to 10,000 tons of TNT ― the most powerful yet in the North’s five tests.
The latest one, which followed a series of ballistic missile launches, came only eight months after the fourth test in January, and it is the first time for the North to conduct two in a year.
Analysts here said the North is now apparently in the final stages of making a nuclear warhead small enough to put on a missile.
If the Pyongyang’s claims are true, it means the country will be able to do this soon.
The North’s Korean Central TV delivered a statement issued by the Nuclear Weapons Institute that scientists and technicians successfully carried out “a nuclear explosion test for the judgment of the power of a nuclear warhead newly studied and manufactured at the northern nuclear test ground.”
The television said the test was successful, noting that it “examined and confirmed the structure and specific features of movement of nuclear warhead that has been standardized to be able to be mounted on ballistic missiles.”
Earlier in the day, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said a magnitude-5 earthquake was detected near the North’s a nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, North Hamgyong Province, at around 9:30 a.m.
“We estimate the North has carried out its biggest-ever nuclear test given the yield that reached 10 kilotons,” an official from the Ministry of National Defense said on condition of anonymity.
The explosive power of the fourth test was estimated at 6 kilotons, the ministry said, adding that the military is currently analyzing details including whether the test was successfully as claimed by the reclusive state.
The latest test was conducted on the 68th anniversary of the establishment of North Korea.
The Kim Jong-un regime pushed ahead with the test even after the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) slapped its toughest sanctions on Pyongyang in March for the fourth test in January and long-range rocket launch the following month.
In response, the North had threatened to conduct a fifth nuclear test, claiming it had the full capacity to carry out pre-emptive nuclear strikes. Kim ordered officials to conduct a nuclear warhead test and more ballistic missiles launches as soon as possible, also in March.
The latest test is expected to bring about further sanctions from the international community.
In the wake of the test, President Park Geun-hye held an emergency meeting with her aides in Vientiane, Loas, where she attended bilateral and multilateral summits involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Park also held a 15 minute telephone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama, during which the two agreed to mobilize “all means available,” including stronger UNSC sanctions, to apply stronger pressure on the North.
She canceled her remaining schedule in Laos after the test was reported and returned home.
People watch television news at Incheon International Airport, Friday, about North Korea’s fifth nuclear test. / Yonhap
In South Korea, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn held an emergency National Security Council (NSC) meeting at the request of Park. The government issued a statement afterwards, saying that the test was “grave provocation” and that it strongly condemned the move.
“Pyongyang has been making dangerous provocations, and has focused on developing nuclear weapons and missiles,” National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong said. “They must realize they will get nothing from such efforts. North Korea will face further international sanctions, as well as isolation.”
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, held talks via phone and discussed countermeasures. They agreed to push for “additional” sanctions against North Korea, the foreign ministry said.
The North’s state media said the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea sent warm congratulations to nuclear scientists and technicians for the successful nuclear test.
“The standardization of the nuclear warhead will enable the DPRK to produce at will and as many as it wants a variety of smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power with a firm hold on the technology for producing and using various fissile materials,” it said. “This has definitely put on a higher level the DPRK’s technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets”