North Korea may test hydrogen bomb in Pacific: Foreign Minister

North Korea has shrugged off numerous sets of sanctions aimed at crimping its nuclear and missile programmes, and this month unveiled what it said was a working hydrogen bomb. 

NEW YORK: North Korea may test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean, its foreign minister said on Thursday (Sep 21).

Ri Yong Ho was asked what leader Kim Jong Un might do after President Donald Trump warned that the United States would “totally destroy North Korea” if it was forced to defend itself or its allies.

He said Pyongyang could consider a hydrogen bomb test on the Pacific Ocean of an unprecedented scale, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Ri said the potential test of "the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb" would be one possible "highest-level" action against the US, according to Yonhap.
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Ri, who was talking to reporters in New York, however said he did not know Kim's exact thoughts, according to the report.

On Friday, North Korean state news agency KCNA quoted Kim as saying that he would make Trump "pay dearly" for his remarks at the United Nations General Assembly. 

Earlier in September, North Korea detonated a hydrogen bomb at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the northeast of the country - causing a magnitude 6.3 earthquake.