Wouldn’t surprise me. The Soviets got the H Bomb five years after the fission bomb. Took us slightly longer, seven years (because we got there through science, not espionage). This is when things get scary.
Aren’t nuclear weapons H-Bombs? If they’ve only just developed them, weren’t the Norks armed with mere Atomic weapons rather than nukes?
It’s hard, but not impossible. Once you have the trigger (fission bomb), the rest is a mechanical construction of cheap Lithium deuteride and U-238. Just build it right and test a few times and it’s a done deal.
Careful now Kimmie boy....you may wind up like ole Saddam!
I think they’re full of it. They have the material and the technology to make an atomic bomb is seven years old. However, IMHO - they lack the technical expertise to remove the 240 from their available plutonium to make it weapons grade.
I dunno.....
....Just developing one does not ensure the ability to deliver it.
The first Hydrogen weapons that were developed weighed tons. Aircraft were devised to solely carry them (B-58 Hustler was one). It took decades of well funded research and a lot of dedicated, educated, well paid (and well fed) Scientists to develop fieldable weapons.
I think that the Norks would have a hard time delivering a fission weapon to the target due to size and weight problems. A hydrogen weapon is 10 times worse.
Gotta get more fertilizer first.
More likely a boosted fission weapon.
North Korea fission weapons have been < 1kt yield because they (I think) have been using reactor grade Pu239 with Pu240 impurities.
Warhead pre-detonates before full implosion.
By placing Tritium in the center of the core, you can boost the yield and thus call it an “H-bomb”
Russians did this on their first “H-bomb” but the rest were real multi-stage weapons.