North Korean leader Kim Jong Un raised eyebrows today with his latest claims about his nation’s military might, claiming the nation has internally produced both atomic bombs and much more powerful hydrogen bombs to defend “the dignity of the nation.”
North Korea has had an on-again, off-again nuclear program and made some efforts toward producing basic atomic weapons, though there is considerable doubt that they are able to miniaturize one into a deliverable form. A hydrogen bomb would be a huge step, if true.
But North Korea has a long history of dubious claims about its military, and expert Daniel Pinkston was quoted in the Washington Post as saying it was “virtually impossible” that the nation has actually managed to produce its own hydrogen bombs.
That Kim made the claim himself, instead of it coming directly from the North Korean military, also adds to doubts about its accuracy, and raises speculation it was more of an off-the-cuff remark aimed at extolling his military achievements as he visited a major military site.
