U.S. casts doubt on North Korea's allegedly successful H-bomb test

North Korean claims of a hydrogen bomb are questionable.
(Image credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

After North Korea announced that it had successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb, the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday unanimously condemned the test and began work to implement new measures against the nation. Even China, a perennial ally of Pyongyang, "strongly oppose[d]" North Korea's actions; Russia also disapproved of the test.

However, White House officials have said that the initial analysis appears to be "inconsistent" with North Korea's claims of a successful test, ABC News reports. Rather, they say the test's seismic activity was roughly size of previous North Korean nuclear tests, and not indicative of the much higher energy hydrogen bomb. A more conclusive determination will be made after airborne samples are analyzed.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.