North Korea Nuclear Test: What You Need to Know

First it was called an “explosion.” Then it registered as an earthquake.

North Korea said Friday it had conducted a “higher level” nuclear warhead test that “confirmed” certain features needed to mount the weapons on ballistic missiles.

While impossible to verify, the claims touched off a familiar round of condemnation and calls for action: It was North Korea’s second nuclear test in eight months and fifth overall.

The International Atomic Energy Agency called the move “deeply troubling” and “regrettable.” South Korea accused Kim Jong Un’s regime of “fanatical recklessness” — noting how this nuclear test was “different from the past.”

That’s because Friday’s produced the North’s biggest estimated explosive yield to date: 10 kilotons, compared with the previous test’s estimated 6 kiloton yield.

And in layman’s terms?

“Smaller than both Hiroshima or Nagasaki, but it would still rip the heart out of a city,” IHS Jane’s analyst Karl Dewey explained. “If detonated in the middle of Lower Manhattan in New York, for example, it would destroy pretty much everything up to the West Village and down to about the New York Stock Exchange.”

Here’s a look at where things stand.
IS THE TEST A GAME-CHANGER?

Dewey cautioned that early yield estimates could be revised — so it’s “hard to tell” how much of advancement Pyongyang has made.

While Friday’s appears to be the biggest test in terms of yields, explosive might isn’t the only factor to take into consideration.

t comes amidst a backdrop of increased ballistic missile testing — in violation of sanctions — that has the international community up in arms.

“I wouldn’t say by itself it is a game-changer, but together with the very frequent ballistic missile testing over the past year … It certainly has given them more information to be able to deliver a nuclear warhead on ballistic missiles,” echoed Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.

SO HOW FAR OFF ARE THEY?

Mounting warheads on missiles is difficult technically — but practice does tend to make perfect.

While it’s impossible to know how close North Korea is to achieving that capability — but that’s beside the point.

Timelines vary, but analysts agree that if nothing is done North Korea could master the lethal skill within five or six years and harbor weapons that could kill hundreds of thousands.

To put it bluntly?

“In the hands of the North Korean regime — which is brutal and erratic — this is an extremely dangerous thing,” Kimball said.

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