[Annotated] North Korea tests a nuclear bomb

But it may not have been the sort of powerful miniaturized^[각주:1] warhead^[각주:2] the rogue state^[각주:3] claimed

The skies to the east of the Korean peninsula have seen no fewer than 14 missile launches this year, but on September 3rd it was events underground that caused alarm. Several meteorological agencies^[각주:4] reported a powerful earthquake in North Korea, centered on a known nuclear test site in North Hamgyong province. The initial tremors^[각주:5] were so great that they were felt in Chinese and Russian cities bordering^[각주:6] North Korea, as well as parts of South Korea. 

Shortly afterwards^[각주:7] North Korea's state news agency^[각주:8] claimed that the country had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb^[각주:9] small enough to be fitted on^[각주:10] an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Ri Chun Hee, the news presenter^[각주:11], beamed as^[각주:12] she announced the "perfect" explosion. 

Authorities elsewhere were not so happy. Moon Jae-in, South Korea's president, called an emergency meeting of^[각주:13] his National Security Council^[각주:14]. His government demanded the "complete" isolation of North Korea through further UN sanctions^[각주:15], and vowed to^[각주:16] strengthen its military alliance with^[각주:17] America even further. Shinzo Abe, the prime minister of^[각주:18] Japan, called the nuclear test "absolutely unacceptable^[각주:19]", and immediately deployed planes to^[각주:20] detect radiation in the atmosphere. Even China, the closest thing North Korea has to an ally^[각주:21], said it was "wrong" to have conducted the test. 

But it is America's reaction that will determine how events now unfold^[각주:22]. It was only last month that President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with "fire and fury" if it pressed on with^[각주:23] its campaign to develop nuclear weapons capable of striking America. Mr Trump has not only led the charge to tighten international sanctions on North Korea; he also imposed^[각주:24] recently issued penalties on^[각주:25] Chinese and Russian firms thought to be helping the North evade sanctions^[각주:26]. Mr Trump labelled North Korea's decision last month to shelve a plan to^[각주:27] fire missiles towards American bases on the Pacific island of Guam as^[각주:28] "very wise". The nuclear test, which is North Korea's sixth, but the first since Mr Trump became president, will be seen as a provocation on^[각주:29] almost the same scale. 

Mr Trump was quick to react, tweeting that, "North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile^[각주:30] and dangerous to the United States". Minutes later he wrote that South Korea, "is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with^[각주:31] North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!"

The force of the explosion, at 100-150 kilotons, could have been ten times bigger than North Korea's previous test. But experts argue that is still not quite powerful enough to have been a genuine hydrogen bomb. Instead, they suggest it might have been an implosion device boosted by tritium^[각주:32] and deuterium gas^[각주:33] (hydrogen isotopes^[각주:34]). If that was the case, making the device small enough to be turned into a warhead that could be carried on an ICBM would be technically difficult. On the other hand, if it turns out to have been a two-stage device^[각주:35], in which an initial blast^[각주:36] is used to amplify^[각주:37] the main detonation^[각주:38], then it probably was a small thermonuclear bomb^[각주:39], which could be miniaturized into a compact warhead. There is as yet no way of knowing^[각주:40] which it was. Although experts are sceptical about^[각주:41] the latter^[각주:42], they have been caught out often enough by North Korea's nuclear programme advancing faster than^[각주:43] most expected.

As it happens, the week ahead will be full of diplomatic pow-wows at^[각주:44] which the international response to the test will doubtless^[각주:45] be debated. Mr Moon will be meeting Vladimir Putic, the president of Russia, and Mr Abe, at an economic forum in Vladivostok. China's president, Xi Jinping, is hosting a summit of^[각주:46] big developing economies^[각주:47] that will be overshadowed by^[각주:48] the embarrassing conduct of North Korea, a supposed^[각주:49] friend of China's. 

Mr Trump, meanwhile, had been considering cancelling America's free-trade agreement^[각주:50] with South Korea. His generals will be trying to talk him out of that^[각주:51], as an affront to^[각주:52] a crucial ally at a delicate time^[각주:53]. But just what they will advise him to do instead is anyone's guess^[각주:54]. If America had any good means to^[각주:55] deter^[각주:56] North Korea from pursuing its nuclear programme, it would have used them already. 

1. miniaturize ; [타동사][VN] 축소 모형을 만들다, 소형화하다 ;; US.UK [|mɪnətʃəraɪz] [본문으로]
2. warhead ; [명사] (미사일의) 탄두 [본문으로]
3. rogue state ; [명사] 불량(배) 국가, 테러 지원국. ;; 동의어 ; rogue nation, terrorist state. [본문으로]
4. Meteorological Agency ; 기상청 [본문으로]
5. tremor ; 1. 미진(微震) [본문으로]
6. border ; [vn] 1. (국가・지역이) (국경・경계를) 접하다 [본문으로]
7. shortly afterward(s) ; 곧. [본문으로]
8. state news agency ; 국영 방송국 [본문으로]
9. hydrogen bomb ; [명사] 수소 폭탄 [본문으로]
10. fit on ; 2. (뚜껑 따위가) 잘 맞다 [본문으로]
11. news presenter ; 뉴스 캐스터, 뉴스 진행자 [본문으로]
12. beam ; 2. [타동사][VN + adv. / prep.] (라디오・텔레비전 전파를) 보내다, 방송하다 [본문으로]
13. emergency meeting ; [명사] 긴급(비상) 회의 [본문으로]
14. the National Security Council ; [the ~] 국가 안전 보장 회의 ((略 NSC)) [본문으로]
15. sanction ; 1. [C] [주로 복수로] ~ (against sb) 제재 [본문으로]
16. vow to ; ~하기로 맹세하다, 서약하다 [본문으로]
17. military alliance ; 군사 동맹 [본문으로]
18. prime minister ; [명사] PM 수상 [본문으로]
19. unacceptable ; [형용사] 받아들일[용납할/인정할] 수 없는 [본문으로]
20. deploy ; [vn] 1. (전문 용어) (군대・무기를) 배치하다 [본문으로]
21. the closest thing North Korea has to an ally ; 북한의 동맹이랄 수 있는 (가장 유사한, 근접한, 비슷한) [본문으로]
22. unfold ; 2. (어떤 내용이 서서히) 펼쳐지다[밝혀지다]; 펼치다, 밝히다 [본문으로]
23. press on[forward] with ; …을 강력히 추진하다, …을 강행하다 [본문으로]
24. impose ; 2. [타동사][VN] ~ sth (on/upon sb/sth) (힘들거나 불쾌한 것을) 부과하다[지우다] [본문으로]
25. penalty ; 2. ~ (of sth) (…로 인한) 불이익 [본문으로]
26. evade ; 2. (특히 법적・도덕적 의무를) 회피하다 [본문으로]
27. shelve a plan ; 계획을 보류[무기 연기]하다. [본문으로]
28. label ... as ; …라고 딱지를 붙이다, 규저하다 [본문으로]
29. provocation ; [U , C] 도발, 자극; 화낼 이유 [본문으로]
30. hostile ; 1. ~ (to/towards sb/sth) 적대적인 [본문으로]
31. appeasement ; [명사] [CU/] 달램, 진정, 완화, 양보; [U] 유화 정책 [본문으로]
32. tritium ; [U] (T) 삼중 수소 ;; US.UK [|trɪtiəm] [본문으로]
33. deuterium ; [U] (D) (화학) 듀테륨, 중수소 ;; US [dju:|tɪriəm ; 또한 du:|tɪəriəm] UK [dju:|tɪəriəm] [본문으로]
34. isotope ; [명사] (물리 화학) 동위 원소 ;; US [|aɪsətoʊp] UK [|aɪsətəʊp] [본문으로]
35. two-stage ; [명사] (항공우주공학) 이단(二段) [본문으로]
36. blast ; 1. EXPLOSION | [C] 폭발 [본문으로]
37. amplify ; (amp・li・fies , amp・li・fy・ing , amp・li・fied , amp・li・fied) 1. [타동사][VN] 증폭시키다 [본문으로]
38. detonation ; [C , U] 폭발; 폭파 [본문으로]
39. thermonuclear bomb ; 수소 폭탄(hydrogen bomb) [본문으로]
40. there is as yet no way of ~ ; 아직 ~할수 있는 어떤 방법도 없다 [본문으로]
41. sceptical ; [형용사] ~ (about/of sth) 회의적인 [본문으로]
42. latter ; (참고: former) 1. (둘 중에서) 후자의; (나열된 것들 중에서) 마지막의 ;; US.UK [|lӕtə(r)] [본문으로]
43. advance ; 2. DEVELOP | (지식・기술 등이) 증진되다[진전을 보다] [본문으로]
44. powwow ; 1. (북미인디언들의)집회 2. (비격식 또는 유머) 회의, 회담 ;; [NOUN] People sometimes refer to a meeting or discussion as a pow-wow. ;; US·UK [|paʊwaʊ] [본문으로]
45. doubtless ; [부사] (드물게 doubt・less・ly) 거의 틀림없이 [본문으로]
46. host ; 1. (행사를) 주최하다 [본문으로]
47. developing economies ; [명사] 개발도상국 [본문으로]
48. overshadow ; [vn], [흔히 수동태로] 1. (…의 그늘에 가려) 빛을 잃게[무색하게] 만들다 [본문으로]
49. supposed ; [형용사] (명사 앞에만 씀) 소위[이른바] …라는 [본문으로]
50. free-trade agreement ; 자유무역협정 [본문으로]
51. talk sb out of sth ; ~에게 ~을 하도록/하지 않도록 설득하다 [본문으로]
52. affront ; [명사] (주로 단수로) ~ (to sb/sth) 모욕, (마음의) 상처 [본문으로]
53. delicate ; 5. 세심한; 미묘한, 까다로운 [본문으로]
54. anyone's[anybody's] guess ; (결과 따위가) 예측할 수 없는[하기 어려운] 것; (추측할 수 있으나) 단정 할 수 없는 것, 불확실한 것, 모두 짐작만 할 뿐인 것[누구도 확실히는 모르는 것] [본문으로]
55. means ; (pl. means), (참고: end n. , fair adj. , way n.) 1. [C] ~ (of doing sth/of sth) 수단, 방법, 방도 [본문으로]
56. deter ; [동사] -rr- ~ sb (from sth/from doing sth) 단념시키다, 그만두게 하다 ;; 참고 ; deterrent [본문으로]