North Korea Says It Successfully Conducts Hydrogen Bomb Test
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - North Korea says it has successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test, which will be a first for Pyongyang and a significant advancement for its military ambitions.
A hydrogen bomb is more powerful than plutonium weapons, which is what North Korea used in its three previous underground nuclear tests.
"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."
The South Korean defense ministry said it too could not immediately confirm the test's success, but the country's foreign ministry hastily convened an emergency meeting. The United Nations Security Council also will hold a meeting later Wednesday.
The test took place at 10 am local time, Pyongyang said in a televised statement, CNN reported.
The seismic event, which measured the event at a magnitude of 5.1, occurred 19 kilometers (12 miles) east-northeast of Sungjibaegam, the United States Geological Survey said.
In the past, North Korea has tested fission weapons, which break large atoms like plutonium, into smaller atoms, creating considerable energy.
Fusion weapons, such as hydrogen bombs, use fusion to combine small atoms -- such as hydrogen -- to create much larger amounts of energy.
Three of the four of North Korea's nuclear tests -- in 2009, 2013 and now -- have taken place while Barack Obama has been the US President.
The country declared it had nuclear weapons in 2003, and conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013