Global Geo-political Series: North Korea warns of hydrogen bomb test in Pacific

Take us seriously, when we threaten.

That is the message coming from Pyongyang.

Speaking to the United Nations’ general assembly last month in  New York, were President Trump was the speaker for the first time, foreign minister of North Korea, Ri Yong-ho warned that the isolated country may conduct its most powerful nuclear test which would be a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific.

However, the country must have felt that those remarks were not taken by the world community, especially the United States which under the Trump administration has taken the toughest stance against Democratic Republic of North Korea (DPRK) in several decades. Over the past couple of months, President Trump and the Kim regime of North Korea have been engaged in fierce war rhetoric, and Washington kept piling up the economic pressure on the country and its partners, especially China.  On Wednesday, a senior North Korean diplomat Ri Yong Pil warned that the remark made by foreign minister Ho should be taken literally, “The foreign minister is very well aware of the intentions of our supreme leader, so I think you should take his words literally…..The US is talking about a military option and even practicing military moves. They’re pressuring us on all fronts with sanctions. If you think this will lead to diplomacy, you’re deeply mistaken”. Mr. Pil added that DPRK has always brought its words into action.

Despite repeated warnings from North Korea, the United States and its two main allies in the region, Japan and South Korea have continued with a joint military drill in the region. This week, the trio has conducted a joint missile tracking exercise over the Korean Peninsula.

With Pyongyang and Washington whipping up tensions, Moscow and Beijing have repeatedly called on both parties to remain calm. Russia and China have called for the implementation of the so-called “double freeze” initiative that sees North Korea suspending its nuclear and missile program in exchange for the US and South Korea abandoning their military exercises in the region. The proposal has been rejected by Washington.