03 January 2016•Update: 05 January 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
North Korea appears to be edging closer to developing its first hydrogen bomb, according to a report released by the South Korean military Sunday.
The South's Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defense Command suggested that Pyongyang already has "the foundation for thermonuclear weapons", which are often referred to as hydrogen bombs.
"We can't discount the possibility that the North's excavation of a new tunnel at its Punggye-ri test site could be designed for thermonuclear weapon tests," the command's report conceded.
Such a technological breakthrough would represent a leap forward for Pyongyang's arsenal, even if North Korea's authoritarian leader Kim Jong-un raised eyebrows last month after claiming that his country was "ready to detonate a self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb."
Thermonuclear weapons involve both fission and fusion reactions to generate even more power than single-stage atomic bombs.
The basis for South Korea's concern is that the North has been steadily enhancing its capabilities -- the reclusive state has previously carried out three nuclear tests, drawing sanctions from the international community.
But researchers at the 38 North institute in the United States also recently highlighted satellite images pointing to excavation work at the Punggye-ri test site.
South Korea and the U.S. are regular targets of aggressive rhetoric out of Pyongyang -- a legacy of the as yet unresolved 1950-53 Korean War.
The allies may require a strategy rethink, although the South believes that they still have time on their side.
"We don't believe [North Korea] is yet capable of directly testing hydrogen bombs," Sunday's report stated.
