MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines on Wednesday, January 6, said it is alarmed at reports that North Korea successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.
“The Philippines is gravely concerned over reports that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) tested a hydrogen bomb,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.
The DFA also said the Philippines “strongly condemns any violation” of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, saying that North Korea should not conduct further nuclear tests.
“We join our international partners in strongly urging the DPRK to desist from continuing these acts of provocation and abandon all nuclear weapons and programs in the interest of peace and stability in the region,” the DFA said.
This comes after North Korea on Wednesday said it had carried out a “successful” miniaturized hydrogen bomb test.
Claim questioned
It was a shock announcement that, if confirmed, would massively raise the stakes in the hermit state’s bid to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.
The announcement triggered swift international condemnation but also skepticism.
A hydrogen, or thermonuclear, bomb uses fusion in a chain reaction that results in a far more powerful explosion than the fission blast generated by uranium or plutonium alone.
Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un suggested Pyongyang had already developed such a device.
The claim was questioned by international experts at the time, and there was continued skepticism over Wednesday's test announcement, which took the entire international community by surprise. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com