10 March,2016 08:13 AM IST | | Agencies
Kim also stressed that the miniature warheads were “thermo-nuclear” devices, echoing North Korea’s claim that the nuclear test it conducted in January was of a hydrogen bomb
Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un says his scientists have successfully miniaturised thermo-nuclear warheads to place on a ballistic missile and create a "true" deterrent, state media said yesterday.
North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried this picture of Kim standing in front of a spherical metal object. But it did not explicitly claim this was part of the miniaturised warhead. Pic/Rodong Sinmun
While Pyongyang has boasted of mastering miniaturisation before, this is the first time Kim has so explicitly claimed a breakthrough that experts see as a game-changing step for the North's nuclear capabilities. Kim also stressed that the warheads were "thermo-nuclear" devices, echoing the North's claim that the fourth nuclear test it conducted in January was of a more powerful hydrogen bomb.
"The nuclear warheads have been standardised to be fit for ballistic missiles by miniaturising them," Kim noted during a visit with nuclear technicians, the North's official KCNA news agency said.
The North Korean ruling party's newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, carried a large front-page picture of Kim standing in front of a spherical metal object. The picture carried no caption and the paper did not explicitly claim this was part of the miniaturised warhead in question.
