North Korea officials said Sunday it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that is small enough to be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile, the sixth time the country has performed a nuclear test.
The explosion measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, and as Gizmodo points out, the blast is at least five times stronger than any previous detonation performed by North Korea and about eight times stronger than the bomb that blasted Hiroshima in World War II.
Early Sunday morning in the U.S., President Donald Trump took to Twitter to respond.
North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017
..North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017
South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017
A month ago, Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury” if it continued to threaten the U.S. North Korea then threatened to send missiles to Guam, but during his rally in Phoenix late last month, Trump said North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un had changed his mindset about the U.S.
“Kim Jong-un, I respect the fact that I believe that he is starting to respect us,” Trump said. “I respect that very much. … But maybe, probably not, but maybe something positive can come about.”
Last week, Trump said “all options are on the table” after North Korea launched a missile over Japan.
On Sunday, North Korea released this photo, apparently of Kim inspecting the miniaturized weapon.
Nuclear test shows North Korea remains dangerous to U.S.: Trump https://t.co/Twp6kOAh9E pic.twitter.com/gdph7n0hQD
— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) September 3, 2017
He said the nuclear test was a “perfect success.”
On Saturday, it was reported that Trump was weighing a decision to pull out of a free trade agreement with South Korea. According to the Washington Post, “White House advisers are trying to stop Trump from withdrawing from the South Korea free-trade agreement in part because they do not want to isolate the government in Seoul during a perilous time on the Korean Peninsula.”
