N Korea’s ‘perfect’ H-bomb test sends global shockwaves

SEOUL: North Korea said it had detonated a hydrogen bomb designed for a long-range missile on Sunday and called its sixth and most powerful nuclear test a “perfect success”, sparking world condemnation and promises of tougher US sanctions.

Pyongyang residents threw their arms aloft in triumph as a jubilant television newsreader hailed the “unprecedentedly large” blast. But world reaction was swift and angry.

US President Donald Trump said on Twitter Pyongyang’s “words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States”.

The US treasury department said it will prepare a package of sanctions that would “cut off North Korea economically”.

In Seoul, President Moon Jae-In called for new United Nations sanctions to “completely isolate North Korea”.

India too strongly condemned the test. In a statement, the exter- nal affairs ministry said that it was a matter of deep concern that North Korea had again acted in violation of its international commitments.

“We call upon North Korea to refrain from such actions which adversely impact peace and stability in the region and beyond,” it said. Hours before the test, the North released images of leader Kim Jong-Un at the Nuclear Weapons Institute, inspecting what it said was a miniaturised H-bomb that could be fitted onto an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

US monitors measured a 6.3-magnitude tremor near the North’s main testing site, which South Korean experts said was five to six times stronger than that from the 10-kiloton test carried out a year ago. The tremor was felt in north-eastern China, with people in the border city of Yanji saying they fled their homes in their underwear.