U.S. general says size of most recent North Korean test ‘equates to’ a hydrogen bomb
2017-09-15 07:55:17 source：The Washington Post
September 14, 2017
The chief of U.S. Strategic Command said Thursday that the size, yield and other indications seen in North Korea’s most recent nuclear test “equates to a hydrogen bomb” and that he must now assume Pyongyang can build one.
Air Force Gen. John Hyten, who oversees U.S. nuclear forces and monitors North Korea, told reporters meeting with him at his headquarters on this installation that he cannot confirm a hydrogen bomb was tested but the test was significant “because of the sheer destruction and damage you can use and create with a weapon of that size.” The Sept. 3 blast is believed to have been at least 100 kilotons in size, large enough to reshape the size of the mountain above the test site that Pyongyang used.
“The change from the original atomic bomb to the hydrogen changed our entire deterrent relationship with the Soviet Union,” Hyten said. “It is significantly of concern not just to Strategic Command, but to everybody in the free world. It should be of concern to people in the neighborhood, which is Japan and Korea, as well as China and Russia.”
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