Gov't should investigate the North's miniature nuclear warhead

North Korea’s Chosun Central News Agency reported Wednesday that Kim Jong Un had claimed, "We made a small nuclear weapon that can fit in a rocket. This is a real nuclear deterrence." The news agency also released a picture of Kim leading his people in front of what appears to be the small nuclear warhead. While saying that nuclear warhead miniaturization was successful, Kim proudly looked around the KN-08, which is a mobile Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a nuclear warhead.

Kim's provocation with the miniature nuclear warhead means a stern "no" to the international request for nuclear renunciation. The UN Security Council passed the Resolution 2270 early this month, while some major countries are pressing North Korea with their own sanctions. As if ignoring all these sanctions, Kim ordered to "make additional powerful and precise mini nuclear weapons and delivery system." The South Korean government should not only take Kim's statement for a bluff out of anxiety but also has to acknowledge that North Korea might have improved their technology significantly through four nuclear tests.

The Ministry of National Defense stated, "We do not have intelligence that says that North Korea has succeeded at making such a small nuclear warhead that could fit in a missile. Even the circumstances do not point to that possibility." However, the Unification Ministry remarked, "It is possible that North Korea already has the minimization technology related to nuclear weapons," leaving us confused. Even though the Defense Ministry seems to have a better analysis than the Unification Ministry, such different positions would only make the public anxious. The top priority is to know how much of what the North Korean leader said is true.

A nuclear warhead of a weight of one ton can attack anywhere in Korea if equipped in a scud missile with an 800-kilometer range. The South Korea-U.S. joint working group should also accelerate the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system deployment. The international community must work together to stop North Korea's fifth nuclear test as well as Kim Jong Un's delusion.