Nuclear threat: South Korea will ‘respond firmly’ to Kim Jong Un

In This Story: Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong-un is a North Korean politician who has been the supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea since 2012. He is the second child of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea’s second Supreme Leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui.

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In This Story: North Korea

North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

Pyongyang is the country’s capital and largest city.

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In This Story: Nuclear Weapons

A nuclear weapon (also called an atom bomb, nuke, atomic bomb, nuclear warhead, A-bomb, or nuclear bomb) is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or from a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb). Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter.

A nuclear device no larger than traditional bombs can devastate an entire city by blast, fire, and radiation. Since they are weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a focus of international relations policy.

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In This Story: South Korea

South Korea, an East Asian nation on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, shares one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders with North Korea. It’s equally known for its green, hilly countryside dotted with cherry trees and centuries-old Buddhist temples, plus its coastal fishing villages, sub-tropical islands and high-tech cities such as Seoul, the capital.

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