North Korea’s ‘Hydrogen Bomb’ Test Suggests Relations With China Unraveling

The hidden conflict behind North Korea’s recent nuclear test.

North Korean meteorological officials in Seoul, South Korea, check a screen showing seismic waves on Jan. 6, 2016, from a recent North Korean nuclear weapons test. The test suggests the Chinese regime is having a harder time controlling North Korea. Chung Sung-jun/Getty Images

News Analysis

For once, the antics of North Korea may be acting against the interests of the Chinese regime—and, as the United Nations mulls its response, the ball is in China’s court.

North Korean state media claimed on Jan. 6 that they tested a hydrogen bomb. Seismic data suggests they did, in fact, test a nuclear weapon, but it had nowhere near the strength of a hydrogen bomb—and was even a bit less powerful than their previous test in 2013.

North Korea is still at the beginning stages of building nuclear weapons.