U.S. Senator Bob Corker says leaders want to place an emphasis on deterrence after North Korean media reported the country had successfully tested a nuclear weapon.
The news that North Korea had tested a hydrogen bomb small enough to be loaded onto intercontinental ballistic missiles came out overnight.
According to his Twitter account, Sen. Corker spoke with General John Kelly Sunday morning as the president and his national security team continue to assess the situation in North Korea.
We stand ready to work with the administration to support a comprehensive strategy. My full statement on North Korea's nuclear test: pic.twitter.com/DI3V7MVv4u
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) September 3, 2017
Sen. Corker then released in a statement, "We stand ready to work with the administration to support a comprehensive strategy that not only places an emphasis on deterrents but also empowers our allies and partners in the region, who must do far more to confront the threat."
According to a South Korean official, the North Korean nuclear test was estimated to have a strength of 100 kilotons. If true, that would be five to ten times more powerful than a previous test conducted in 2016, and about five times as powerful as the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in World War II.
