North Korea conducts another nuclear test, which helps it gain the capability to produce “standardised and minimised” nuclear warheads, and the U.S. presses for more sanctions on the country.
IN THE SECOND WEEK OF SEPTEMBER, North Korea carried out its fifth nuclear test. The last two tests were in quick succession. The latest nuclear test, the most powerful one so far, coincided with the country’s 68th independence day celebrations. It was conducted in the underground testing facility of Punggyeri in the north-east of the country. The magnitude of the blast has been estimated at between 10 and 20 kilotons, much higher than the test conducted in 2013, which was estimated to be between six and seven kilotons. Pyongyang stated that the latest test was that of a hydrogen bomb. It announced that it had conducted the test “to determine the power of our nuclear warhead”. The statement from the government claimed that the country had now gained the capability to produce “standardised and minimised” nuclear warheads.
As expected, the nuclear tests were roundly condemned by the international community, with the loudest criticism coming from the United States and its allies in the region. President Barack Obama described North Korea’s decision to go in for another nuclear test as “a grave threat to regional security and to international peace and stability”. He demanded “serious consequences” for North Korea’s actions, including the introduction of even “more sanctions”. North Korea is the most heavily sanctioned country in the world but this has not impacted on its determination to chart out its own unique way of preserving its sovereignty. “The pressure for more international sanctions is laughable,” the North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Hi said in a speech at Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) conference in Venezuela in the third week of September. He said North Korea would continue to strengthen its nuclear power.
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