A girl band and North Korea’s alleged hydrogen bomb

ON THE morning of January 6, 2016, the people in the Yanbian region of China’s Jilin province felt the earth rumble. Tables and chairs in the buildings moved 20 centimeters. Cracks appeared on the playground at a local school. No one knew what had happened until a few hours later, when the North Korean government announced it had carried out a hydrogen bomb test, writes World Review expert Kati Kang. Yanbian is just over a hundred kilometers from where North Korea conducted its test. The location, in the country’s northeast, is a dangerous one for carrying out such trials. It is not far from Paektu Mountain, an active volcano in the Changbai range on the border of China and North Korea. Any nuclear blast there may have unimaginable consequences. Five hours after the North Korean announcement, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release expressing the Chinese government’s firm opposition to such behavior. The statement reiterated Beijing’s long-held policy line that to maintain peace and stability, the Korean Peninsula must be free of nuclear weapons. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has retained his grandfather’s and father’s predilection for flouting international rules. Pyongyang is simply repeating the strategy Beijing used in 1967 when it announced its own first successful hydrogen bomb test. The international reaction was similar. Back then, the situation inside China resembled that of today’s North Korea. Mao Zedong (1949-1976) successfully diverted internal attention from the indigence and turmoil at home. It is no exaggeration to say that North Korea has imitated China well. News of the North Korean H-bomb test not only stunned the world – it caught China completely off guard. Politically, the impact was no less than that of an actual hydrogen bomb. Mr. Kim humiliated the Chinese government, completely destroying the perception that Pyongyang would obey Beijing on the most important issues. At the same time, the Chinese now realize that a nuclear weapon in the hands of North Korea is a bigger threat to their country than the arsenals of the United States. The worry is that all of northeastern China would suffer the consequences if a nuclear disaster in North Korea were to occur. It is possible to trace back the roots of the incident. In October 2015, the fifth-highest ranking Chinese leader, Liu Yunshan, visited Pyongyang to participate in the 70th anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s Workers’ Party. China wanted to use the occasion to improve the weakened relationship between the two countries. Accordingly, Mr. Liu took the opportunity to invite Mr. Kim’s favorite female music group, the Moranbong Band, to Beijing for a performance. The band arrived in Beijing on December 10, 2015 and planned to perform from the 12th to the 14th. The Chinese government-controlled media heavily promoted the concert, even though tickets were not for sale. The only people who could get their hands on them were Chinese government officials, certain organizations’ personnel and their families. During the rehearsal, the stage’s background screen showed images extolling North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, along with slogans disparaging the U.S. Chinese officials told the group that such viewing attractions would not be allowed. Adding insult to injury, the band was also informed that top Chinese leaders with the president and the first lady would not be attending the show. Furious, Mr Kim ordered the performers to return to Pyongyang immediately, just three hours before the first show was due to begin. That same day, North Korea announced it had developed a hydrogen bomb. For a more in-depth look at this subject with scenarios looking to future outcomes, go to our sister site: Geopolitical Information Service. Sign in for 3 Free Reports or Subscribe.

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