North Korea says it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb

Kim Jong Un.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Shortly after a 5.1 magnitude earthquake was detected in North Korea Wednesday, the country announced it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

"If there's no invasion on our sovereignty, we will not use nuclear weapon," the state news agency said. "This H-bomb test brings us to a higher level of nuclear power." North Korea said the test took place at 10 a.m. local time in the northeastern part of the country. Earlier, officials in South Korea declared that the earthquake was "artificial," and the foreign ministry called an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of a nuclear test.

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
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.