North Korean nuclear test (January 2016)

DPRK test 4

Test deviceNorth KoreaLayered fission–fusion

No freely licensed photo of this device yet.

Yield · TNT equivalent7–16.5 kt

Key specs

Country: North Korea
Design: Layered fission–fusion
Type: Test device
Number built: 1

Overview

North Korea’s fourth nuclear test, in January 2016, which it announced as a hydrogen bomb. Its estimated yield of 7–16.5 kt was too low for a true thermonuclear weapon; South Korean intelligence judged it a fission device.

Effect radii: estimates

Calculated for 16.5 kt

Fireball, maximum radius: ≈ 190 m
Initial radiation, 500 rem (5 Sv): ≈ 1.4 km
Blast 5 psi: most buildings collapse: ≈ 1.8 km
Thermal: third-degree burns: ≈ 2.1 km
Blast 1 psi: windows shatter: ≈ 5.6 km

Estimated ground ranges for an air burst at the optimum height over flat, open ground, computed from the yield with standard scaling laws. These are not measurements: real effects depend on the height of burst, terrain, buildings and weather.

Formulas from: Glasstone & Dolan, The Effects of Nuclear Weapons (1977), chapter II; Carey Sublette, Nuclear Weapons FAQ, section 5

Tests and use

Date	Event	Site	Yield
Jan 6, 2016	North Korean nuclear test (January 2016)	Punggye-ri Test Site, North Korea	16.5 kt

Sources

January 2016 North Korean nuclear test, Wikipedia