The Latest: Seoul media say North might test nuke in Pacific
By Associated Press
Sep 21, 2017 9:24 PM CDT
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2017, file photo, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho gets into a car at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. Ri in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, described as "the sound of a dog barking" U.S President Donald Trump's threat to destroy his country....   (Associated Press)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on North Korea's nuclear program (all times local):

10:15 a.m.

South Korean media report North Korea's top diplomat says his country may test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean to fulfill leader Kim Jong Un's vow to take the "highest-level" action against the United States.

Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho comments Thursday on the sidelines of a United Nations gathering followed an extraordinary direct statement by Kim in response to President Donald Trump's threat to "totally destroy" North Korea.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports that Ri told reporters in New York that a response "could be the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific."

Ri reportedly added that "We have no idea about what actions could be taken as it will be ordered by leader Kim Jong Un."

Such a test would be considered a major provocation by Washington and its allies.

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