The head of North Korea said that his grandfather Kim Il Sung "turned the country into a strong nuclear power, ready, relying on its own forces, to detonate a nuclear and hydrogen bombs to defend the sovereignty and dignity of the nation." In 2006, 2009 and 2013, North Korea has conducted tests of nuclear weapons, yet it is known nothing about whether the country has an h-bomb. Experts from South Korea believe that the statement was more a rhetorical device.
The hydrogen bomb, also called thermonuclear, is a more powerful version of the atomic one. However, it is much more expensive and harder to be produced compared to nuclear, so there’s not much of countries having experimented with this kind of weapons. Among them are the USSR, USA, Great Britain and China. In 2014, it became known about the Indian experiments in this area, but further information on this subject did not appear.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Chang Yong-seok, a researcher at Seoul National University's Institute for Peace said that "this is the first time that Kim Jong-un spoke of the hydrogen bomb." Prior to that, according to the expert, he always threatened their opponents with atomic weapons only. A source in the intelligence agency of South Korea told that, according to their data, noting indicates that Pyongyang is able to produce hydrogen warheads. He suggested that it was a rhetorical device.
Kim Jong-un’s statement took place at a time when he visited a munitions factory, converted into a museum of the revolution. "Every part of this place was restored in accordance with the principles of historicism and its educational component deserves praise" - said the North Korean leader.
The hydrogen bomb, also called thermonuclear, is a more powerful version of the atomic one. However, it is much more expensive and harder to be produced compared to nuclear, so there’s not much of countries having experimented with this kind of weapons. Among them are the USSR, USA, Great Britain and China. In 2014, it became known about the Indian experiments in this area, but further information on this subject did not appear.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Chang Yong-seok, a researcher at Seoul National University's Institute for Peace said that "this is the first time that Kim Jong-un spoke of the hydrogen bomb." Prior to that, according to the expert, he always threatened their opponents with atomic weapons only. A source in the intelligence agency of South Korea told that, according to their data, noting indicates that Pyongyang is able to produce hydrogen warheads. He suggested that it was a rhetorical device.
Kim Jong-un’s statement took place at a time when he visited a munitions factory, converted into a museum of the revolution. "Every part of this place was restored in accordance with the principles of historicism and its educational component deserves praise" - said the North Korean leader.
