Did They or Didn’t They? Six Questions Over North Korea ‘H-bomb’ Test
Geoff Dyer | Financial Times
The US flew “sniffer” drones over the test site on Wednesday but that will only work if sufficient quantities of radioactive material escape the test shaft. “It is all very unsatisfactory,” says James Acton, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington. “The truth is that we might never know.”
Why is North Korea’s ‘Hydrogen Bomb’ Test Such a Big Deal?
Anna Fifield | Washington Post
Mark Hibbs, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, notes: If North Korea effectively used a small amount of fusion materials to boost the yield of a plutonium device to a level below that of a full-fledged thermonuclear blast, that could be revealed by isotopic relationships in fallout data from the explosion.
North Korea’s Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Full Steam Ahead
38 North
Reports of a North Korean “ejection” test of the Bukkeukseong-1 (Polaris-1, KN-11) submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on December 21, 2015, appear to be supported by new commercial satellite imagery of the Sinpo South Shipyard. This imagery also indicates that despite reports of a failed test in late November 2015 North Korea is continuing to actively pursue its SLBM development program.
US Moving Advanced Ships to Japan Base
Ken Moriyasu | Nikkei Asian Review
The U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen, which took center stage geopolitically last October for sailing within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea, departed from a U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan on Wednesday to be replaced by a more advanced ship, as part of the Navy's plan to put the latest, most capable vessels in the Asia-Pacific region.
Nuke Test to Ignite Call for THAAD Deployment
Chung Ah-young | Korea Times
Washington may increase the pressure on South Korea for the stationing of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) unit on South Korean soil following the North's claimed test of a hydrogen bomb, experts said Thursday. The United States discussed its measures with South Korea to deploy U.S. strategic assets on the Korean peninsula to deter the North's growing threats.
After Nuclear Test, South Korea Ready to Resume Anti-North Broadcasts
Anna Fifield | Washington Post
South Korea said Thursday it would resume broadcasting messages into North Korea over powerful loudspeakers, part of an effort to punish Kim Jong Un’s regime for this week’s nuclear test. After a wave of global condemnations and emergency meetings, the international community searched for ways to escalate pressure on North Korea for its latest nuclear test. Pyongyang claimed Wednesday that its test that day involved a hydrogen bomb, which would mark a huge leap in the North’s nuclear capabilities. But experts say it appeared to be a less powerful atomic device similar to ones the North have detonated on three previous occasions since 2006.