North Korea claimed Sunday that it developed a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted on a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, dictator Kim Jong-un inspected "an H-bomb to be loaded into [a] new ICBM" while visiting the North’s Nuclear Weapons Institute.
“All components of the H-bomb were homemade and all the processes ... were put on the Juche basis, thus enabling the country to produce powerful nuclear weapons as many as it wants,” KCNA reported.
Juche is North Korea’s homegrown ruling go-it-alone ideology that is a mix of Marxism and extreme nationalism preached by state founder Kim Il Sung, the current leader’s grandfather.
Plans to launch a sixth nuclear test were not mentioned, but KCNA said Kim Jong Un “set forth tasks to be fulfilled in the research into nukes.”
North Korea last year conducted its fourth and fifth nuclear tests, saying the fourth in January 2016 was a successful hydrogen bomb test, although outside experts questioned whether it was a full-fledged hydrogen bomb.
The fifth nuclear test in September 2016 was measured to be possibly North Korea’s biggest detonation ever, but the earthquake it caused was still not believed to be big enough to demonstrate a thermonuclear test.
U.S. officials have told Reuters that while North Korea has had parts in place for a nuclear detonation going back several months, no new activity has been seen recently at its known nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in its northeastern region. (Reuters)
Along with the report photos were released showing Kim Jong Un inspecting the purported hydrogen bomb in a lab.
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