Here’s Everything That Happened With North Korea This Weekend

It’s been a long weekend, and you probably spent it doing fun things: barbecuing, hiking, maybe just staying in a watching a movie, we don’t know. But now, for some reason, you’re reading this article, because you want to ruin all that by hearing the news from North Korea over the past few days.

It began on Sept. 3, when seismic stations around the world felt a blast from North Korea, much more powerful than their usual nuclear tests (of which they have conducted 150+ over the last few decades). This was soon accompanied by an announcement from North Korea that they had mastered the hydrogen bomb, and could fit the devastatingly powerful thermonuclear warhead into an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. NPR reports on exactly what a hydrogen bomb is, and what it can do in an ICBM.

Al Jazeera reports on world leaders unanimously voicing criticism of North Korea’s escalating nuclear tests and rhetoric. Even Xi Jinping, President of China (North Korea’s one ally and benefactor), agreed that the Korean peninsula should be denuclearized, that the latest test must be “dealt with.”

For his part, President Donald Trump spoke with leaders in Japan and South Korea, reaffirming their alliance and discussing the threat. He also tweeted a bunch, calling North Korea a “rogue nation,” among other things. The Guardian reports that US diplomat Nikki Haley said North Korea is “begging for war” and asked the UN for increased sanctions against the nation. And just today, Trump signed off on increased military equipment to be sent to Japan and South Korea, according to the Washington Post.

South Korea continued live fire drills, meant to demonstrate to its northern neighbor that its retaliation to a missile launch would be swift and deadly. They also deployed THAAD launchers, a controversial US missile defense system according to The Guardian. South Korea had already conducted a test bombing run with the same goal: remind North Korea of the consequences of war.

Finally, Vladimir Putin cautioned against war with North Korea, saying it would result in a “massive” loss of life, according to The Hill.

So that’s it! Nothing too major, just a country that claims the United States as its sworn enemy saying that it has thermonuclear weapons that they can attach to long-range missiles. Probably not a big deal. Go on about your day.