Tests of the DPRK hydrogen. After the explosion of a multi-ton bomb in North Korea, seismic tremors were recorded in the Far East

On Sunday night, North Korea successfully tested a nuclear warhead for an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"In accordance with the order of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) on the development of strategic nuclear weapons, our nuclear scientists successfully tested a hydrogen bomb for intercontinental warheads in the north of the country," Korean Central Television reported.

It is noted that the decision to conduct the next test was given to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the WPK at 03:00 am on Sunday (21:30 Saturday Moscow time - ed.).

Former North Korean leader Kim Chen In said that his country had built its own hydrogen bomb, the components of which were "100 percent manufactured" in North Korea.

As reported by the KCNA agency, citing the North Korean Nuclear Weapons Development Institute, the weapons test did not lead to a radiation leak. The media emphasized that the activation systems of the North Korean bomb worked properly, completely in accordance with the plan of the designers.

At the same time, the China Seismological Center recorded two earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.3 and 4.6, respectively. It is assumed that the tremors occurred in the area of ​​the city of Kilchu, where the Phungeri nuclear test site is located.

The world community has condemned North Korea's sixth nuclear test.

Japanese reaction

Prime Minister of the Land of the Rising Sun Shizo Abe reacted harshly to North Korean actions, calling the bomb test unacceptable.

“North Korea's nuclear test is a blatant and flagrant violation of current UN Security Council resolutions and a serious threat to the security of the region and the entire international community. This is completely unacceptable, ”the politician’s statement emphasizes, excerpts from which TASS cites.

At the same time, speaking to reporters, Abe said that he ordered to maintain contacts with the United States, South Korea, Russia and China in connection with the next nuclear test of the DPRK. The Japanese Foreign Ministry also issued a statement that Moscow and Beijing may impose additional sanctions against Pyongyang in the event of new tests.

Japan also sent a strong protest to North Korea through diplomatic channels and called for the urgent convening of the UN Security Council.

South Korean reaction

South Korean leader Mu Jae In in response to the tests, he promised that Seoul, together with the international community, would take the maximum possible countermeasures. This is stated in a presidential statement released on Sunday.

In addition, the Yonhap news agency reported that the South Korean authorities are ready to consider the option of deploying "the most powerful tactical weapon of the United States" on its territory in light of the new nuclear test of the DPRK.

It is also noted that Seoul intends to insist on the adoption of the most stringent sanctions against Pyongyang.

Chinese reaction

The Chinese authorities strongly condemned the actions of the DPRK, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Despite the overwhelming opinion of the international community, the DPRK has once again conducted nuclear tests. The Chinese government expresses its categorical protest against this,” the ministry said in a statement published on the official website.

The department noted that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is Beijing's unchanged position.

"We persistently appeal to the North Korean side so that it properly responds to the aspirations of the UN on the problem of the denuclearization of the peninsula," the statement said.

Russia's reaction

The actions of the DPRK aimed at undermining the nuclear non-proliferation regime are regrettable and fraught with serious consequences for Pyongyang itself, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, which was published on the ministry's website.

“It cannot but cause regret that the leadership of the DPRK, by its actions aimed at undermining the global non-proliferation regime, poses a serious threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region as a whole,” the document says.

Russia called on all parties to immediately return to negotiations on the North Korean issue. From Moscow's point of view, a peaceful resolution of the conflict is the only way out of the situation.

“We call on all interested parties to immediately return to dialogue and negotiations as the only possible way to comprehensively resolve the problems of the Korean Peninsula, including the nuclear one,” the Russian Foreign Ministry noted. “We reaffirm our readiness for joint efforts in this direction, including in the context of the implementation of the Russian-Chinese road map.”

Seismologists from a number of countries on September 3 recorded unusual tremors in North Korea. According to Yonhap, according to the Korea Meteorological Agency, located in South Korea, the magnitude of the earthquake was 5.6 points. Geophysicists drew attention to the fact that seismic activity was recorded near the city of Kilju in the province of Hamgyongbukto, where the North Korean nuclear test site is located. The data of South Korean scientists were confirmed by their colleagues from the USA, Japan and China. According to the Chinese side, the power of the push was 6.3 points.

The earthquake happened around 6:30 Moscow time. Chinese and South Korean scientists also recorded a second tremor of less power - about 4.6 points. According to experts from the China Seismological Center (CENC), the second earthquake occurred at 6:38 Moscow time - presumably, it was a collapse and subsidence of the rock that collapsed as a result of the first shock.

According to the Primorsky Department for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, weak echoes of the earthquake in North Korea were also felt in Vladivostok. However, the radiation background in the Russian Primorye is within the normal range.

“After the alleged nuclear test in the DPRK, no excess background radiation was recorded in the Primorsky Territory,” the agency said in a statement.

According to the United States Geological Survey, tremors in North Korea are nothing more than a "possible explosion."

“If what happened is not an explosion, the National Earthquake Center of the United States Geological Survey cannot determine it (earthquakes. — RT) type,” seismologists said.

Chinese specialists also reported about the "explosion" of high power as a probable cause of two tremors.

The Japanese military noted that the yield of the North Korean bomb was 70 kilotons. The South Korean side estimated the yield of the charge at 100 kilotons, and the Norwegian seismologists talk about an indicator of 120 kilotons - this is six times more powerful than the US bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945 (21 kilotons).

In Seoul, an urgent council on internal and external security was convened in connection with the testing of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that North Korea has confirmed the first test of a hydrogen bomb and called it "absolutely successful." The Daily Telegraph reports that North Korean television also reported on the successful test of a thermonuclear charge.

"Power (explosion. - RT) is 10 or 20 times greater than in previous tests,” Kun She, a professor at Seoul National University, told Reuters. “Such a scale speaks of testing a hydrogen bomb,” the expert confirms the information to the media.

Juche motifs

“The test of the hydrogen bomb was conducted to test and confirm the accuracy and performance of the power control technology and internal design of the hydrogen bomb designed to be placed on ICBMs, which has recently begun production,” Yonhap was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). ), the official news agency of the DPRK.

Shortly before the tremors were recorded, the KCNA posted information that the country had developed a new compact hydrogen warhead that could be placed on intercontinental ballistic missiles. Two tests of missiles with a range of up to 10,000 km, capable of hitting not only American bases on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, but also the west coast of the United States, North Korea conducted in July.

• North Korean ballistic missile launch
• KCNA/Reuters

The new thermonuclear warhead was personally examined by the leader of the country Kim Jong-un, visiting the Institute for Nuclear Research. “The Supreme Leader watched as a hydrogen bomb was planted on an ICBM,” the KCNA statement emphasized.

“All components of the hydrogen bomb were made by domestic manufacturers, based on the Juche idea. Thus, the country can produce powerful nuclear weapons in as many quantities as it pleases, ”KCNA quotes the North Korean leader.

Immediately after reports of the development of a new nuclear bomb in the DPRK, the leaders of Japan and the United States held telephone conversations on the North Korean issue. Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe "discussed the growing threat from the DPRK" and ways to put pressure on Pyongyang, the White House press service said.

In turn, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono called the actions of the DPRK absolutely inexcusable and called on Russia to put more pressure on North Korea, in particular, consider imposing an oil embargo on Pyongyang.

However, this gesture, taking into account the history of the region, can be perceived in Pyongyang as a provocation, against the backdrop of ongoing exercises by the United States and South Korea.

“The fuel embargo is directly a preparation for war,” Konstantin Asmolov, a leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RT. "Because if you've studied history, you know what role the American fuel embargo played in Japan's entry into the war with the United States in 1941."

“Here, both technical and political reasons are intertwined,” explained political scientist Irina Lantsova, who is conducting a nuclear test by the DPRK right now. “The main reason is the pressure and threats from the United States, forcing Pyongyang to strengthen its defenses.”

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense Alexander Sherin, in an interview with RT, said that the United States provoked the DPRK.

“Here I must say a big thank you to the United States, because they put the squeeze on the country. It was they who created such conditions when the state begins to shrink into a ball and spend money on defense. Let American soldiers and bases go to the borders of the United States, and there will be no such arms race in the world, ”the deputy emphasized.

“Now North Korea has found itself in such a situation that it needs to protect itself with a guarantee, and in order to guarantee this protection, it is necessary to conduct tests,” Lantsova notes. “Politics plays a role here indirectly. In this case, it’s not even a demonstration, but a reaction to what is happening.”

“Kim’s goals are clear: to try now, in a very short time, to bring his nuclear missile program to such a level that it would be clear to everyone that there is no third option - either a war starts, or it is necessary to negotiate with North Korea,” said Konstantin Asmolov.

“You have to understand that Kim is not going to communize the south or portray the main reptile of Indian cinema in a fit of psychopathy, his goals are more pragmatic,” the expert says.

• KCNA/Reuters

According to Asmolov, Pyongyang believes that, having received nuclear weapons capable of reaching the United States, it will reach a level of nuclear deterrence similar to that of the US-China. And then, despite the contradictions, the option of war between the two countries will be excluded.

We understand but do not accept

“It cannot but cause regret that the leadership of the DPRK, by its actions aimed at undermining the global non-proliferation regime, poses a serious threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region as a whole. The continuation of such a line is fraught with serious consequences for the DPRK itself, ”the Russian Foreign Ministry commented on the nuclear test in the DPRK.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called Pyongyang's actions "an extremely sad act" and "a complete disregard for the repeated demands of the international community."

According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Tokyo has already sent a protest to Pyongyang through diplomatic channels in connection with the test of a thermonuclear charge. Shinzo Abe ordered to keep in touch with representatives of the United States, Russia and China in order to quickly respond to the developing crisis.

• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
• Reuters

“The actions of the DPRK are understandable, but unacceptable, because such a policy, firstly, greatly exacerbates tensions, and secondly, undermines the world order, which is built on the authority of the UN, whose resolutions are ignored, and on the fact that nuclear weapons should be who is supposed to, - notes Konstantin Asmolov. “That is why Moscow and Beijing may question the substance of the sanctions, but believe that every such action should be formally condemned.”

According to the expert, the DPRK chose the date of the test unsuccessfully. “The congress of the Communist Party of China is on the way, today is the BRICS summit - I think that this will cause a certain emotional irritation of Moscow and Beijing and, of course, we should expect a new round of tightening sanctions, although there is nowhere to tighten further,” Asmolov said.

Frants Klintsevich, deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Security and Defense, in an interview with RT, called the DPRK nuclear test a provocation.

“If earlier it was a sparring, which, in my opinion, could hardly lead to any serious conflicts, then the tests that have passed today are already a provocation on the part of North Korea. This is really serious. I think this can no longer be allowed. There is no alternative to the negotiation process and peaceful conversation. Today we need to sit down at the negotiating table and solve this problem, because North Korea’s upholding of its sovereignty in this way can lead to a very serious conflict, ”Klintsevich emphasized.

Trump will answer

What is Trump going to do now? - Increase pressure on Russia and China to achieve some serious joint action. The bet is that the irritation of Moscow and Beijing with such a step by North Korea will make them more accommodating in terms of American proposals, ”Konstantin Asmolov believes.

In turn, South Korea has already announced that it will seek tougher sanctions against the DPRK, according to Yonhap, citing the head of the National Security Department of the Presidential Administration of South Korea, Chung Ui Yong.

The agency notes that the Korean official has already held relevant consultations with his American counterpart, National Security Adviser to President Trump, General Herbert McMaster. Yonhap also reports that South Korea will seek to host "the most powerful tactical weapon" of the United States.

“We are in for a very serious escalation, one of the most difficult in the last six months,” Irina Lantsova predicts the consequences of new nuclear tests by the DPRK.

• US President Donald Trump
• Reuters

According to the expert, the main problem now is that after a number of high-profile statements from the United States, the leaders of this country have seriously limited their room for maneuver and will most likely be forced to escalate. “The problem is that Trump has threatened so much, promised so much that he now has to do something,” the political scientist says.

“This is not the first nuclear test - this is the sixth nuclear test, and it has always been possible to do something diplomatically,” the expert notes. “But over the past six months, so many formidable promises have been made to do something that you will now have to answer for your words,” Lantsova believes.

“We should expect more emotional involvement,” Asmolov notes. According to the expert, despite the expected tightening of rhetoric from the United States, the likelihood of a new war in Korea now is “only” 35%. “I used to say that the probability of a conflict on the peninsula is approximately 30%, now it has increased by five percent,” the expert believes.