People watch a TV news program showing North Korea’s announcement of its hydrogen bomb testing, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday. (AP PHOTO)
Pyongyang’s hydrogen bomb explosion angers UN, China
SEOUL, South Korea — After North Korea said it it has conducted a successful hydrogen bomb test, the United Nations secretary-general condemned the move as a “profoundly destabilizing for regional security.”
Ban Ki-moon said Pyongyang should cease any further nuclear activities and meet its obligations r “for verifiable denuclearization.”
Ban spoke to reporters shortly before the U.N. Security Council met in an emergency session on North Korea’s announcement, the first step toward a likely tightening of international sanctions on the country.
The U.N. chief said the latest test is “deeply troubling” and “once again violates numerous Security Council resolutions despite the united call by the international community to cease such activities.”
North Korea’s surprise announcement complicates already difficult efforts to curb the country’s push for a working nuclear arsenal.
A hydrogen bomb is generally more powerful than a nuclear bomb.
North Korea has long pushed for an arsenal of warheads that can be mounted on a missile capable of reaching mainland America’s shores. North Korea is thought to have a handful of rudimentary nuclear bombs. But it is not yet thought to have succeeded.