North Korea claims to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. Thermonuclear shock: a detailed analysis of the DPRK hydrogen bomb explosion and its consequences. Tests, more powerful than the bombing in Nagasaki and Hiroshima

North Korea took US President Donald Trump's speech at the UN about his readiness to "completely destroy" the DPRK as a declaration of war and is ready to retaliate. One of them may be the most powerful in the history of Pyongyang's nuclear tests, an explosion of a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean. This opportunity was allowed by North Korean Foreign Minister Lee Yong Ho, who arrived in New York to speak at a meeting of the UN General Assembly, Yonhap agency reports. According to him, what exactly will be the response of the DPRK, the leader of the country, Kim Jong-un, will determine.

On September 19, Trump, speaking from the UN podium, noted that the United States, "possessing tremendous strength and patience," could "completely destroy" the DPRK. The American president called Kim Jong-un a "rocket man" whose mission is "suicidal for himself and his regime."

The first reaction of the DPRK to these statements was squeamish: the Foreign Ministry compared Trump's promises with the "barking of a dog" that cannot frighten Pyongyang. However, a day later, the official North Korean agency KCNA published Kim Jong-un's commentary on the words of the American president. He described Trump as a "political heretic", "a hooligan and a troublemaker", threatening to wipe out a sovereign state from the face of the earth. The North Korean leader advised his American colleague to "be careful in the choice of words and be attentive to the statements that he makes in the face of the whole world." Trump, according to Pyongyang, is an "outcast and gangster" who is unsuitable for the country's top command. The leader of the DPRK perceived his speech as a refusal of the United States from peace, called it "the most outrageous declaration of war" and promised to seriously consider "super-tough retaliatory measures." Such measures, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, could be a super-powerful test of a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.

In late August, Pyongyang, commenting on the launch of its ballistic missile that flew over Japan for the first time, noted that this was "the first step in the military operation of the Korean People's Army in the Pacific Ocean and a prelude to containing Guam," where US military bases are located.

Pyongyang's threats to test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific came hours after Trump pledged to further tighten sanctions against North Korea. New restrictions by the UN Security Council were introduced only on 11 September. Then the world organization limited North Korea's ability to import more than 2 million barrels of oil products per year, and also imposed a ban on the export of all its textile products and labor, which brought at least $1.2 billion annually. The UN also authorized the freezing of goods transported under the North Korean flag in in case of refusal of the ship's command from the inspection.

These measures were unanimously supported by all 15 member countries of the UN Security Council. However, initially the United States demanded more, in particular, insisted on a complete ban on the import of petroleum products and personal sanctions against Kim Jong-un. On September 21, Trump announced that he was expanding his administration's powers to impose sanctions against the DPRK. His decree is aimed at cutting off financial flows that "feed North Korea's efforts" to develop nuclear weapons. In particular, Washington intends to tighten sanctions against individuals, businesses and banks that do business with North Korea, Fox News reports. Separately, we are talking about suppliers of technology and information to the DPRK.

The signing of Trump's sanctions order was preceded by his consultations on increasing pressure on the DPRK with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

So far, North Korea has conducted its nuclear tests underground. The last, most powerful, happened on September 3rd. Initially, experts estimated its power at 100–120 kt, which is 5–6 times stronger than the previous one, but later increased their estimates to 250 kt. The magnitude of the explosion, originally estimated at 4.8, was later adjusted to 6.1. These estimates confirmed that the DPRK was able to create a hydrogen bomb, since the yield of a conventional atomic bomb is limited to 30 kt. The successful test of a hydrogen bomb - a missile warhead - was officially announced by Pyongyang.

Even after the underground nuclear test of the DPRK, South Korean observers recorded the release of radioactive gas xenon-133 into the atmosphere, although it was stipulated that its concentration was not hazardous to health and the environment. At the same time, the explosion with a capacity of 250 kt is close to the maximum that the North Korean nuclear test site Pungyo-ri could withstand, experts noted. On satellite images, they recorded landslides and rock subsidence at the sites of underground tests, which could potentially lead to a violation of its integrity and the release of radionuclides to the surface. How many more trials he can endure is unknown.

Until now, the presence of a hydrogen bomb has been officially recognized by five countries with the status of nuclear powers - the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France and China. They are permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto power. The completion of the development of such weapons in the DPRK is not recognized.

TOKYO, January 6 - RIA Novosti, Ivan Zakharchenko, Ekaterina Plyasunkova. North Korea announced the holding on Wednesday at 04:30 Moscow time of the first, the existence of which was mentioned earlier. Neighboring countries, primarily South Korea and Japan, sounded the alarm and promised to seek new sanctions against the DPRK.

For its part, Pyongyang, having circulated a statement by the government of the country, explained that it went for the development of nuclear weapons to protect itself from the United States and would never be the first to use them unless the sovereignty of the DPRK was violated.

Suspicious earthquake

The alarm was sounded on Wednesday morning after seismologists from different countries recorded an earthquake on the territory of the DPRK, not far from the nuclear test site in the mountainous province of Yangando. Its magnitude reached 5.1, according to European scientists, and 4.3 - according to South Koreans. The epicenter lay at a very shallow depth, less than one kilometer, which immediately aroused suspicions about the possibility of a nuclear test in the north of the Korean Peninsula.

In the afternoon local time, the government's statement was broadcast on the DPRK's central television that an "absolutely successful" test of a hydrogen bomb had been carried out on the orders of the country's leader.

"Until the United States abandons its hostile policy, neither the cessation of nuclear development nor the dismantling of nuclear facilities by the DPRK will ever be possible," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a statement.

"The army and people of the DPRK will firmly build up a just nuclear deterrence force in both quality and quantity in order to reliably guarantee the future of the revolutionary course of Juche (ideology in the DPRK) for all ages," the statement said.

The North Korean government noted that the test of the hydrogen bomb was carried out 100% on its own and with the help of its own technologies.

In another statement, the South Korean government noted that the authorities in Seoul will "work closely with the international community, including allies and countries participating in the Six-Party Talks, to ensure that North Korea pays for the nuclear test, and will take all necessary measures, including additional sanctions in in accordance with the decisions of the UN Security Council.

Japanese reaction

The Japanese government also protested to the DPRK. As the Prime Minister of Japan said, conducting a test in the DPRK is a "serious security threat" to his country and "cannot be justified in any way." "I am making a strong condemnation," Shinzo Abe quoted the Kyodo news agency as saying. "This is a violation of the existing resolutions of the UN Security Council and a serious challenge to all the efforts made in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," the Japanese prime minister added.

Japanese Cabinet Secretary General Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the test in the DPRK "significantly worsens peace and stability in the region and the world community, clearly violates the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the Japan-North Korea Declaration and the Joint Six-Party Agreement." "This cannot be accepted by Japan, we strongly condemn and protest against the actions of the DPRK," the secretary general stressed.

According to the Kyodo news agency, a Kawasaki T-4 training aircraft equipped with a dust collector is currently being prepared for departure at the Misawa Air Force Base in northern Aomori Prefecture. The purpose of the operation will be to monitor the radiation background in the region after the test of the DPRK. In addition, the Japanese government is holding an emergency meeting to determine response measures in case of changes in the radiation background in the country.

US reaction

The White House has not yet confirmed the conduct of a nuclear test in the DPRK, but called on North Korea to comply with international obligations, Agence France-Presse reports citing a statement by Ned Price, spokesman for the US National Security Council.

"While we are unable to confirm these statements, we condemn any violation of UN Security Council resolutions and again call on North Korea to comply with its international obligations," Price said in a statement. Price added that the US would respond appropriately to any provocation by North Korea.

At the same time, the head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) reacted to the DPRK's statement.

"This action is a violation of generally accepted norms prohibiting nuclear testing," said CTBTO chief Lassina Zerbo. "This (nuclear test) is a serious threat to peace and security," he added.

Pyongyang first announced the creation of nuclear weapons back in 2005, and when it was not believed, it conducted nuclear tests three times along with launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The DPRK has repeatedly stated that it did this to protect itself from the United States, so as not to become a "second Iraq." The announcement of a new test, this time of a hydrogen bomb, followed reports of North Korea launching a submarine ballistic missile in the Sea of ​​Japan.

"North Korea apparently tested SLBMs last month," the Yonhap news agency said, citing sources on Wednesday. According to them, "(launch) has not reached a successful stage." North Korea continues to test SLBM missiles, a source told the Yonhap news agency.

The American publication Washington Free Beacon on January 5 reported that the launch was made on December 21 from a submarine near the North Korean port of Sinpo in the Sea of ​​Japan. The publication, citing military sources, claimed that the test was successful.

It followed another test that the DPRK attempted on November 28, but reportedly ended in failure and damaged the Kore (Kit) submarine.

A US source claims that it will take only one year for the DPRK to adopt such missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, while other experts express doubts about this.

Pyongyang, by its actions aimed at undermining the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, poses a serious threat to peace and security. This is how our Foreign Ministry commented on the test of the hydrogen bomb, which North Korea announced on September 3.

The diplomats stressed that the continuation of the tests is fraught with serious consequences for the DPRK itself. At the same time, it was once again noted on Smolenskaya Square that the only possible way to resolve the problems of the Korean Peninsula is through peaceful negotiations.

“It cannot but cause regret that the leadership of the DPRK, by its actions aimed at undermining the global non-proliferation regime, poses a serious threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region as a whole. The continuation of such a line is fraught with serious consequences for the DPRK itself. We call on all interested parties to immediately return to dialogue and negotiations as the only possible way to comprehensively resolve the problems of the Korean Peninsula, including the nuclear one,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Alarming messages from the DPRK began to arrive in the morning. Before Pyongyang announced that it had tested a hydrogen bomb in the area of ​​​​the test site, which had already tested nuclear weapons, a powerful earthquake was recorded. Echoes reached Vladivostok.

Seoul has already announced that the defense departments of South Korea and the United States agreed to consider all options for a military response to the actions of the DPRK as soon as possible. And Tokyo called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

"Today, September 3, at 12:00, North Korean scientists successfully tested a hydrogen warhead designed to equip intercontinental ballistic missiles at the northern test site," a North Korean television announcer said.

Now hydrogen. Pyongyang is moving towards the status of a nuclear superpower. Sanctions, persuasion, threats, indignation of the world community - nothing helps. According to South Korean experts, the power of the bomb exploded on September 3 can reach 100 kilotons. For comparison, this is about six Hiroshima. The explosion triggered an earthquake about 10 times stronger than what happened last year when Pyongyang conducted its last nuclear test.

Seismologists sensed something was wrong even before the official announcement of the Koreans. The echoes of the earthquake, as it is now clear - man-made, were felt far beyond the borders of the DPRK, including in Vladivostok.

“I felt dizzy, at first I didn’t understand, I thought I felt bad. Then I look - the ground is leaving from under my feet, things are shaking, there were flowers on the window - the flowers were shaking. I run out into the corridor - I see that the mannequin is shaking there, ”said a resident of Vladivostok.

“In terms of distance, it is approximately 250-300 kilometers from Vladivostok. At the epicenter of the earthquake itself, in all likelihood, there were about seven points. On the border of Primorye, somewhere around five points. In Vladivostok - no more than two or three points," said the seismologist on duty Amed Saiduloev.

Pyongyang confirmed the test report with a photo report on the development of a compact hydrogen warhead. It is argued that the DPRK has enough of its own resources mined in the country to create such a bomb. During the work on installing a warhead on a rocket, Kim Jong-un was personally present.

“The great leader looked at the hydrogen bomb that will be installed on the new intercontinental ballistic missile. Kim Jong Un said we can build as many nuclear weapons as we want."

As usual, the neighbors were alarmed. South Korea has stated that it will seek complete international isolation of the DPRK. And, perhaps, will host the most powerful tactical weapon. In Japan, a crisis headquarters has been set up at the Prime Minister's Office.

“We are analyzing all our intelligence data in order to properly inform our citizens about what happened, as well as discuss this with representatives of the countries concerned - the United States, South Korea, China and Russia. Conducting another nuclear test is absolutely unacceptable, and we must respond harshly,” said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Over the past year, the DPRK has repeatedly tested ballistic missiles. The last launch is this week, on Tuesday, August 29th. A medium-range missile entered Japanese airspace and fell into the Pacific Ocean. Flew a little more than 2.5 thousand kilometers.

Tests in the midst of US and South Korean exercises. Russia and China have proposed a double freeze plan, with the US and South Korea halting their exercises and North Korea halting their tests. After all, saber-rattling only leads to escalation.

But in Seoul they were quick to report that they had tested the latest super-heavy bombs. And in response to the North Korean missile launch, the United States and South Korea held joint air force exercises. The same - indicative. The world is being tested on both sides.

North Korea conducted its sixth full-fledged nuclear test on September 3. About what could be blown up on it, but the North Koreans would not be themselves if this time they had not prepared a lot of surprises. Vladimir Khrustalev, an expert on the Zvezda TV channel website, analyzes in detail the nuclear test of North Korea. Sunday morning shock On Sunday morning, even before the test, the North Korean media stunned the world with a sensation. The main news agency of the DPRK published photographs showing a thermonuclear charge. And not just a thermonuclear charge, but suitable for installation on a ballistic missile. The intercontinental missile "Hwaseong-14" was named as the carrier rocket in the first place. This was indicated by the photographs, where the scheme for installing the charge in the head of the ballistic missile was visible, and the caption above the scheme also called the type of carrier. Most likely, the photo was a mock-up of the device, and not the device itself, since some details in the high-quality photographs looked strange for real charge. And, on the other hand, an equipped thermonuclear charge as part of the design has a number of elements that require safety precautions and only specialists have access to the charge. We are talking about the possible presence of a plutonium part in the assembled structure (plutonium creates a noticeable level of ionizing radiation ), a deuterium-tritium gas mixture (tritium is also not particularly good for health), as well as the mandatory presence of a system for detonating the nuclear assembly of the structure. The composition of the nuclear assembly also necessarily includes a layer of conventional explosive and a system for its detonation. In other words, this part requires care in handling, even if radioactive materials are not placed in the structure. The device itself, which received the name "peanut" among Western experts, and among Russian - "dumbbell" because of its shape, really looks like a thermonuclear charge. An external automation unit is clearly visible in it, connected by cables to the main part, including a nuclear one (the one that makes up the larger half of the "dumbbell") and a thermonuclear unit (the "smaller" half). The operation of the first creates the conditions for the operation of the second with a large release of energy. No one except the developers knows what is inside the device itself. And the point here is not that the design is strange or the experts remain silent. Everything is simpler: there are several workable variants of the device shown at once. What is even more interesting: official materials reported that the device has more than one mode of operation. That is, at reduced and at nominal power. There are different options for solving this problem, but the main thing is that in creating a device with two modes of operation, there is nothing supernatural, in general.
Of course, like any announcement from the DPRK, this "leak of information" gave rise to fierce debate about how realistic this demonstration is and when to wait for the tests. Among sensible experts (those whose forecasts regarding military programs usually came true) a consensus arose in the first hours: "If the North Koreans have achieved success in work on thermonuclear charges, there should be a successful test." Moreover, the key feature should be anomalous power against the background of past tests. Since the end of 2016, attempts have been made to suggest how the DPRK thermonuclear breakthrough would look like for external observers. The answer was simple. The observed magnitude of the test will be 5.7 conventional units or more. And if 6 or more, then definitely something thermonuclear. In general, everyone began to wait for the test, but no one expected that it would happen a few hours after the announcement of the photos of the thermonuclear charge. Nuclear "seismic event" Sunday's test immediately caused a shock. Reports began to come from the USA and China about the maximum measured power of shocks at the level of 6.3 conventional units. Other countries have measured shock levels ranging from 5.7 to 6.3. According to some seismic stations, they observed a seismic event in the DPRK with a parameter of 6.4 conventional units. Such a strong difference is normal. The fact is that the lithosphere is a less homogeneous medium than the hydrosphere, so the vibrations propagate differently, which means that there will be certain differences in the received signals in different directions and at different distances.
The second problem is that, depending on the depth, even at the same range, an explosion of the same power (in TNT equivalent) will also give “seismic events” of different recorded power. The third problem is that only North Koreans know the power of the explosion quite accurately specialists. Since the conversion of measured seismic parameters into kilotons of TNT to a large extent depends on what correction factors are used for calculations. But this does not mean that nothing can be said about this. First, a significant fact should be noted: the lowest theoretical limit of the explosion power is not lower than 50 kt. Moreover, this is clearly with all the permissible theoretical understatements. South Korea insists on the figure of 50 kt. But Seoul's estimates always show signs of deliberately severe underestimation. Yes, and they are made on the basis of signals that are less powerful than those that are recorded in other directions from the nuclear test site of the DPRK (features of geology). Secondly, most open estimates of independent experts give 100 kt and more as the most probable figure. So the Norwegian NORSAR gave an estimate of 120 kt, Chinese geologists - 108 kt. Among American experts, the interval 100-150 kt is considered the most reliable.
Thirdly, there is an indirect sign. Seismic echoes were noticeably felt not only in China. In other countries closest to North Korea, at a time roughly coinciding with the explosion in the DPRK, users began to write on social networks that they felt a slight vibration in the house. Of course, many did not feel or notice anything, because the strength of the vibrations was not that great (the type of soil on which the building or the observer was directly plays a serious role here), but nevertheless there are witnesses to this phenomenon. The distance at which the echoes were observed from the explosion, indicates the approximate level of energy release during the explosion. This is exactly a different order of power than in all past tests. What does a nuclear test mean for North Korea? First of all, we can confidently talk about the huge success of the military-industrial complex of the DPRK. The North Korean nuclear scientists managed to radically improve the quality parameters of their charges both in terms of increasing the achieved power by an order of magnitude and in terms of power per unit weight of the charge. Secondly, this means radically different possibilities for inflicting damage on the aggressor during retaliatory nuclear missile strikes. Bombs of "Hiroshima power" do not look as menacing for modern cities as they did decades ago. But thermonuclear charges are capable, with their power, of quite confidently carrying out huge destruction over long distances in modern large cities, built mainly of reinforced concrete. This means that in order to inflict obviously unacceptable damage, it is required that fewer charges break through the missile defense system than with an order of magnitude lower power of warheads. And the presence of such an enemy’s ability to inflict damage usually greatly reduces the desire to attack him.
Thirdly, thermonuclear charges are the best (from possible) electromagnetic pulse generators. The detonation of a thermonuclear charge at a suitable height is capable of damaging electrical and electronic equipment over an area of ​​a million square kilometers or more. At the same time, direct damage to people by the shock wave and light radiation does not occur. A sort of opposite of the urban legend neutron bomb, which supposedly kills people while preserving wealth. Only here infrastructure, communications, machinery and equipment are turned off. And people are not surprised. And that's not counting the damage to the orbital constellation. An ideal weapon against advanced opponents, especially the most technologically advanced ones, completely immersed in the "digital era". At the same time, to detonate a charge at altitudes of 100 km and above, you do not even need to have proven warheads that can survive all overloads when descending in the atmosphere. The corresponding explosion is carried out outside the atmosphere. This possibility was mentioned in the materials published shortly before the test. “Our thermonuclear charge, the power of which can be adjusted from tens of kilotons to hundreds of kilotons, not only has tremendous destructive power, but is also a multifunctional thermonuclear warhead, which can also deliver a super-powerful electromagnetic strike over great distances by detonating a charge at high altitude, ”wrote the North Korean media.
Fourthly, the presence of such an option as the choice of explosion power creates high opportunities for choosing different targets for the optimal format for hitting the same warhead "for the task." This means that in the future it will greatly increase the flexibility of the nuclear arsenal. This was directly stated in the corresponding statement following the test results. “Success in testing a thermonuclear charge for equipping ICBMs is a demonstration of the qualitative development of nuclear forces, when it is possible to freely control the power of a thermonuclear charge depending on the object and target of the strike. This is a very significant milestone in improving the nuclear armed forces,” the North Korean press wrote. Fifth, a compact and powerful thermonuclear unit is a critical stage for creating an effective intercontinental nuclear missile weapon. North Korea has already successfully tested the Hwaseong-14 missile twice in July. And now the thermonuclear unit has also been tested. This test was carried out to confirm the validity and reliability of new technologies applied in the power control system and designing a new design for installation in the warhead of an intercontinental ballistic missile. So the United States and its allies can now be sincerely congratulated. Their policy towards the DPRK was crowned with another resounding "success".