South Korea skeptical of North's hydrogen bomb claims

SEOUL, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The probability North Korea conducted a hydrogen bomb test is low, South Korea military and intelligence officials said Wednesday, after Pyongyang announced it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

The magnitude of the seismic activity is too weak, South Korean television network MBC reported.

According to Seoul's National Intelligence Service, "There is a possibility a hydrogen bomb test was not conducted, judging by the size of the quake," after seismic monitors detected a 5.1 tremor near the Punggye-ri test site near the China border.

Hydrogen bombs are hundred times more powerful than other nuclear weapons, and even if the test fails, any experiment would emit several dozens of kilotons of energy into the atmosphere.

But according to Seoul, North Korea's most recent test emitted about 6.0 kilotons of nuclear power, an amount well below the estimated 7.9 kilotons of power that was emitted during North Korea's third test in 2013.

In Washington, White House officials condemned the North Korea test. National Security spokesman Ned Price told Yonhap that while the North's claims of a test could not be verified, the United States condemns any test that is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The North's provocative announcement was equally condemned in China, where Beijing Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China was not warned in advance of the test – unlike previous cases when Pyongyang conducted nuclear experiments, South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported.

There is a growing possibility more sanctions could be imposed on North Korea, as was the case in March 2013, when the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2094.

A U.N. official who spoke to South Korea press on the condition of anonymity said it is difficult to conclude what actions could be taken, but most likely any new sanctions would target North Korea's weapons and financial transactions. The Security Council called an emergency meeting for Wednesday.

North Korea also has been testing a submarine-launched ballistic missile, Yonhap reported.

Pyongyang was able to test-launch a SLBM in December, off the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula, an unidentified South Korean government official said, adding the North continues to test SLBMs.

The official did not say whether a submarine was used in the most recent SLBM test.