SEOUL: North Korea claimed Friday it had successfully tested a nuclear warhead that could be mounted on a missile, drawing condemnation from the South over the “maniacal recklessness” of young ruler Kim Jong-Un.
The blast at the Punggye-ri nuclear site was the North’s fifth and most powerful yet at 10 kilotons experts said.
“If we put that into perspective, it is smaller than Hiroshima or Nagasaki, but would still be capable of ripping the heart out of a city,” said Karl Dewey, an analyst at IHS Janes.
Pyongyang’s state media said the test, which comes after a series of ballistic missile launches, had realised the country’s goal of being able to fit a miniaturised warhead on a rocket.
“Our nuclear scientists staged a nuclear explosion test on a newly developed nuclear warhead at the country’s northern nuclear test site,” a North Korean TV presenter said.
