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| Q&A: North Korea nuclear test | Q&A: North Korea nuclear test |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| What has North Korea got? | What has North Korea got? |
| Tuesday morning's nuclear test by North Korea has been measured as larger than the two previous tests in 2006 and 2009. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation said it was twice the size of the 2009 explosion, registering 4.9 on the Richter scale, but they further tests were needed to verify it was definitely a nuclear explosion. The state news agency, KCNA, announced Pyongyang had succeeded in miniaturising a powerful nuclear device to put on a rocket, something it had not been able to do before. If this is true then they have taken a giant leap towards becoming a nuclear power. | Tuesday morning's nuclear test by North Korea has been measured as larger than the two previous tests in 2006 and 2009. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation said it was twice the size of the 2009 explosion, registering 4.9 on the Richter scale, but they further tests were needed to verify it was definitely a nuclear explosion. The state news agency, KCNA, announced Pyongyang had succeeded in miniaturising a powerful nuclear device to put on a rocket, something it had not been able to do before. If this is true then they have taken a giant leap towards becoming a nuclear power. |
| What is the technology for? | What is the technology for? |
| Pyongyang said the tests were a response to the "outrageous" US hostility that undermines North Korea's right to peacefully launch satellites. They maintain these launches are aimed purely at putting satellites in space. However, the regime seems keen to stress that the device was more powerful than the two previous tests yet smaller in size, pointing to weapon capability. Washington believes North Korea is aiming to design an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could hit the US. | Pyongyang said the tests were a response to the "outrageous" US hostility that undermines North Korea's right to peacefully launch satellites. They maintain these launches are aimed purely at putting satellites in space. However, the regime seems keen to stress that the device was more powerful than the two previous tests yet smaller in size, pointing to weapon capability. Washington believes North Korea is aiming to design an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could hit the US. |
| What does the international community fear? | What does the international community fear? |
| There are fears this device may have been constructed using highly enriched uranium (HEU). The regime said it had begun to enrich uranium in 2009. It is much more complicated to minituarise an HEU device, so if this is what happened, then North Korea's technological capabilities are greater than expected. They could build a much greater arsenal without having to rely on their dwindling plutonium stocks. | There are fears this device may have been constructed using highly enriched uranium (HEU). The regime said it had begun to enrich uranium in 2009. It is much more complicated to minituarise an HEU device, so if this is what happened, then North Korea's technological capabilities are greater than expected. They could build a much greater arsenal without having to rely on their dwindling plutonium stocks. |
| What can be done about it? | What can be done about it? |
| North Korea is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world and has an extremely small economy, so there is not much left for the UN security council to target. The regime consistently cites sanctions as the reason it defies international law with rocket and nuclear tests. | North Korea is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world and has an extremely small economy, so there is not much left for the UN security council to target. The regime consistently cites sanctions as the reason it defies international law with rocket and nuclear tests. |
| Since Kim Jung-un took over from his father the economy has shrunk by 20% and a third of children are thought to be malnourished. Existing sanctions include a ban on the import of nuclear and missile technology and an arms embargo. The regime told a UN disarmament forum on Tuesday that the "country will never bow to any resolutions". | Since Kim Jung-un took over from his father the economy has shrunk by 20% and a third of children are thought to be malnourished. Existing sanctions include a ban on the import of nuclear and missile technology and an arms embargo. The regime told a UN disarmament forum on Tuesday that the "country will never bow to any resolutions". |
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