North Korean blast may destroy China's goodwill

By The Canberra Times
Updated April 24 2018 - 9:25pm, first published January 7 2016 - 6:02pm

North Korea's claim to have detonated a thermonuclear device on Wednesday – though unverified – is a jarring reminder of the international community's abysmal record in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In 2015, in a major breakthrough in non-proliferation efforts, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the European Union persuaded Iran to agree to eliminate its stockpile of enriched uranium and reduce the numbers of its gas centrifuges. But in the meantime, it appears the North Koreans (who are already thought to have stockpiled up to 27 atomic weapons) were working at acquiring a hydrogen bomb, a device many times more powerful than a conventional A-bomb.

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