Kim Jong Un’s H-Bomb Leads to Escalation of Global Tensions

World agencies emphasize that North Korea’s detonation of an H-bomb on Sunday morning marked a dramatic escalation of tensions between the isolated communist country and the United States and its allies.

Pyongyang announced that the hydrogen bomb test ordered by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was “perfectly successful” and represents an “important” step in completing its nuclear weapons program. This confirmation came after international seismic agencies recorded an artificially induced earthquake near the already known site in North Korea for conducting nuclear tests.

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Japanese and South Korean officials announced that the earthquake was 10 times stronger than the tremor recorded after North Korea’s last nuclear test a year ago.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In called for the “harshest punishment” for North Korea, including new UN sanctions. Moon calls for “all diplomatic measures, especially UN Security Council sanctions aimed at the complete isolation of North Korea.”

The president’s advisor Chung Sui-Yong confirmed that Seoul will discuss the deployment of “the most powerful American weapons,” possibly alluding to tactical nuclear weapons that Washington withdrew from the Korean Peninsula in 1991.

As for Japan, Reuters reports that U.S. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster told his Japanese counterpart that Washington is firm in its intention to defend Japan. According to the alliance agreement with Japan, the U.S. is committed to protecting Japan and has placed it under its ‘nuclear umbrella,’ meaning that it could respond with nuclear weapons to any attack on Japan.

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Condemnations of North Korea’s nuclear test are coming from many sides. China has “strongly condemned” this act and called on Pyongyang to “stop worsening the situation with moves that do not serve its interests.”

“North Korea has ignored the universal opposition of the international community and has conducted a nuclear test again. The Chinese government expresses its firm opposition and strongly condemns this move,” stated the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Russia stated that the new North Korean nuclear test “deserves the strongest condemnation” and called for calming the situation.

“This latest demonstration of Pyongyang’s contempt for the provisions of UN Security Council resolutions and norms of international law deserves the strongest condemnation,” stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Moscow also emphasized that it is “important to maintain peace and refrain from any actions that could lead to further escalation.”

French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the international community, including the UN Security Council, should respond quickly and decisively to North Korea’s nuclear test, which constitutes a violation of international law.

“The international community must respond very firmly to this new provocation to unconditionally bring North Korea back to the path of dialogue and move towards the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantling of its nuclear and ballistic program,” said Macron.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that this act is “regrettable” and that the test was conducted with “complete contempt for the repeated demands of the international community.”

Norway called for a strong response from the international community, warning that “such nuclear weapons, if deployed, would have catastrophic consequences.”

“Therefore, the international community must respond strongly,” said Foreign Minister Borge Brende. However, he believes that a “diplomatic solution” should still be sought as North Korea is a “poor country with widespread malnutrition.”

“I think the young leader in Pyongyang might be satisfied with economic or political solutions,” assessed Brende.

Sweden, a current member of the UN Security Council, assessed that this latest North Korean nuclear test has “worsened the situation” as it further “endangers international peace and stability.” The Foreign Minister also added that the role of the Security Council is “important.”

Her predecessor Carl Bildt tweeted that this means “the crisis with North Korea has entered a significantly more dangerous phase as it represents a major provocation for China and the U.S.”

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Kim Jong-un has so far shown that he does not heed warnings and calls from the international community, completely ignoring economic sanctions, as well as threats from U.S. President Donald Trump of possible military strikes, AFP emphasizes. After inheriting his father Kim Jong-Il at the end of December 2011, he was about 20 years old (his exact date of birth is unknown) and although experts assessed him as vulnerable and inexperienced and subject to manipulation by the more experienced “old guard,” he soon proved to be very ruthless and effective in suppressing any dissonant tones.

AFP reminds that in 2013 he executed his very influential uncle Jang Song-Thaek for alleged treason. He is also believed to be behind the spectacular assassination of his half-brother Kim Jong-Nam in February in Malaysia. After the execution of his uncle, he carried out a purge and got rid of several top state officials, and then in 2016 took the helm of the State Affairs Commission and gained absolute power.

He has also shown that he is capable of distancing himself from China, North Korea’s only ally that has weight and importance. After all, he has still not visited his neighbor to meet with President Xi Jinping.

Kim Jong-un is the son of his father’s third wife, Ko Yong-Hi, a Korean dancer born in Japan who died of cancer in 2004. He was partly educated in Switzerland, and teachers and students remember him as a shy boy who loved skiing and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies.

In an interview with the Washington Post, his aunt Ko Yong-Suk, who defected in 1998, described him as a hothead who had no patience or tolerance for anyone.