good morning. i'm dara brown with breaking news from north korea. that country claims it's undertaken its sixth nuclear weapons test. u.s. experts are reviewing two tremors detected in north korea to verify whether kim jong-un has conducted a nuclear test. north korea's state news agency announced the country had developed a peanut hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. the tremor was detect as a 6.3

explosion near the testing site. stronger than the 5.1 tremor detected in 2016. a statement from a north korean describes ats a successful h-bock test true to the plan for build a nuclear force. south korea shurd a statement saying they're pushing for u.s. sanctions. we have correspondents and analysts from london to beijing to waurnds and we begin with ron allen in seoul, south korea. what do you know about this test and what are you hearing from north korea and south korea? >> well, we know this was a massive explosion that reportedly was felt in china and russia, countries nearby north korea. we don't know exactly what it was. we know what the north koreans are claiming.

they're claiming that it was a hydrogen bomb, not a nuclear weapon, stronger than a nuclear weapon, many times for powerful and they're claiming that it was a weapon that was small enough to be put inside and launched by a long range missile. if all that is true and again it hasn't been verified, that would be a major step forward, a major technological achievement and escalation of the tension here on the korean peninsula. south korea has responded quickly and condemning this ultimately. the south korean president called this outrageous and disgusting. he's said that they're going to bring to bear every diplomatic tool that they can, sanctions ons north korea. they're also openly talking about taking military measures, defensive measures calling in more u.s. military weaponry to help protect south korea which is significant because the south

koreans are adamantly opposed to military force. they keep insisting that they want to solve this problem and stand off diplomatically. but this is a huge escalation here. we're trying to understand exactly what the particulars are of what the north koreans detonated. earlier in the day there were pictures of the supreme leader kim jong-un touring what was said to be a missile factory and inspecting a device that the commentary said was a long range missile that could be fitted with a nuclear war head. there was that propaganda deployed before this test. technical experts around the world are trying to determine what it was and what its force was. 6.3 on the richter scale is a massive explosion. u.s. and south korean officials have been talking all day, as well as the japanese officials with the united states. and president trump is to have a long conversation with the joerkian president at some point

tied. a lot of concern about what the north koreans have done here. >> for south koreans, is this another day in seoul or is this rattling them at all? what's the reaction there? >> reporter: it's not just another day but i don't think people are rattled either. they have lived with the threat for several decades, if you remember, in fact the korean war has not been solved. this is of course what we believe to be the sixth nuclear test by the north koreans. so the south koreans are well aware of what's going on. it's in the news every day. the government has been issuing warnings for some time about a possible next round of nuclear testing by the north. people are not running for shelters or cover. there are regular drills that happen here and in japan, especially in japan after the long range missile was flown

over japan by the north koreans late last week. people are well aware of what's going on. they're not running to take cover. but something about this particular time seems different. because of the magnitude of this blast, because of the back and forth, the threats and counter threats that have been going back and forth between the united states and south korea and the north koreans over the past couple of weeks. people are taking notice of this. >> ron allen, thank you, reporting live from seoul, south korea. garrett haake is at the white house. any record on when we with expect reaction from the white house? >> reporter: the short answer is no. but the ball is in the president's court to respond at a time of his choosing today. no public i venevents on his schedule. south korea and china have responded to this already and we know that there are at least

staff level discussions going on behind the scenes between senior officials in this white house and their counterparts overseas. i got to the white house at 5:30 a.m. this morning but there are lights on upstairs in the white house suggesting there is sun up and active the morning. >> what do you know about the conversation between h.r. mcmaster and his south korean counter part? anything you can tell us? >> reporter: the south koreans described the conversation as an emergency phone call overnight from h.r. mcmaster, the national security adviser to the president and his south korean counter part. those are the kinds of conversations you would expect to happen prior to the leaders talking to each other. and the white house wanting to be careful with how they respond to this given the stakes. >> let's turn now to kooeir simmons.

what is the reaction from the chinese? we know he gave a speech a short time ago and did he touch upon north korea? >> well the chinese very quickly issued a statement condemning the nuclear test by north korea and calling on north korea to comply with the relevant security council resolutions. president xi gave a major speech in which he did not mention north korea once but did talk about a world moving toward peace. the chinese are trying to walk a different line between supporting its ally, north korea and comply with the world's community. president putin is flying into this city to meet at this conference, including with the leader of china. president putin issued a statement just this week, actually wrote an op ed for a newspaper in which he described attempts by the u.s. and the

west to prevent the north korean nuclear program as futile and called for negotiations. russia and china appear to be together in calling for the tension to be ratcheted down and for negotiations with north korea. that is very different from the position in washington. and it's just one of the examples of how difficult the diplomacy is over this issue. >> and keir, what does this test do to the relations between the u.s. and china? >> reporter: well, it is all about the u.s., china and north korea. china is north korea's most important trading partner. there is a wide spread view that pressure on china leads to pressure on north korea. and a view by some that china simply isn't doing enough. china has done more to try to implement the sanctions against north korea. the reality is that if china wanted to, it could likely bring down the north korean regime.

the problem for the chinese though is that they don't want to see that happen. they don't want to see north korea destabilized. remember, north korea is right on the chinese border. and at the same time they very much do not want to see a military outcome from this. they do not want to see u.s. military intervention which china fears could lead to an escalation, possibly nuclear escalation right on its doorstep with a huge refugee crisis and the potential for the u.s. to move into north korea and the u.s. forces to be closer to the chinese border. those are the kinds of considerations that beijing is weighing up. every step that north korea takes towards this nuclear program escalates the tension and making it more difficult for beijing to keep the status quo. >> and keir, any other reaction from the big players here? you mentioned putin writing an

op ed this past week. what about russia today, has there been any contact from them in. >> reporter: not so far. but we do know that the japanese leader had a telephone call with the president to discuss this issue. japan obviously a u.s. ally. and japan has seen a north korean missile fired over its territory feels very much in the firing line. it's important to remember that while the fear in washington is that north korea is trying to and explicitly saying it's aiming to develop a long range missile with nuclear capabilities capable of hitting north kor north america, there are many countries in the firing line of north korea. and when people talk about a the fear of an escalation, everyone worries that a military outcome could lead to large numbers of

death in this region, possibly hundreds of thousands, possibly worst than that. >> a lot of big players at play here. keir simmons reporting live for us. now the russia factor, a little more than 48 hours ago, the russian foreign minister wanted the u.s. to reach out to north korea and attempt da plocy. richard engel will explain which this changes everything now. oh, you brought butch. yeah! (butch growls at man) he's looking at me right now, isn't he? yup. (butch barks at man) butch is like an old soul that just hates my guts. (laughs) (vo) you can never have too many faithful companions. introducing the all-new crosstrek. love is out there. find it in a subaru crosstrek. you don't let anything lkeep you sidelined. come on! that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein, and 26 vitamins and minerals...

for the strength and energy, to get back to doing what you love. ensure, always be you. hi. can you tell me about these new social security alerts i keep hearing about? sure, just sign up online. then we'll alert you if we find your social security number on any one of thousands of risky websites. wow. that's cool. how much is it? oh, it's free if you have a discover card. i like free! yeah, we just want you to be in the know. ooh. hey! sushi. ugh. i smell it! you're making me... yeah, being in the know is a good thing. know if your social security number is found on risky sites. free from discover. when i walked through for a cigarette, that's when i knew i had to quit. for real this time. that's why i'm using nicorette. only nicorette gum has patented dual-coated technology for great taste, plus intense craving relief. every great why needs a great how. ♪ so being cool comes naturally. hmm. i can't decide if this place is swag or bling.

it's pretzels. word. ladies, you know when you switch, you get my bomb-diggity discounts automatically. ♪ no duh, right? [ chuckles ] sir, you forgot -- keep it. you're gonna need it when i make it precipitate. what, what? what?

we are following breaking news overseas. u.s. experts are reviewing two tremors detected in north korea to vie fie whether kim jong-un has conducted a sixth nuclear test. the country claimed it's developed a hydrogen pom that can be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. they will consider deploying the most powerful u.s. tactical

weapons available. let's go to richard engel. did this test catch the u.s. off guard today? >> i think an event like this always catches you off guard to a degree but a nuclear test had been expected. the officials had been briefed. everyone knew there was going to be an escalation after the american show of force, after north korea flew a missile over japan. but most people that i've been speaking to thought it would come in a few weeks, thought it would come in early september. so i think it caught people surprised that it happened this morning but people knew it was coming. >> we've heard from china and south korea but the just has yet to offer an official response to this test. why is that in. >> well, i think they're trying to figure out exactly what happened, what kind of device this was, gather more information. there are competing estimates out there if you look at

different agencies that are already starting to put some of their expert opinions out. one said the yield was 50 kilo tons, another said 100. there are measurements of how strong the earthquake was. japan has sent sniffing aircraft to collect particle samples from the air. anytime you have a nuclear test it kicks up a lot of debris and particulate matter into the atmosphere. i think they're waiting to find out exactly what happened or their best guess about what happened. and two, at least come up with an idea of what their messages is going to be, how strong is the message going to come. is it going to come from president trump? is he going to tweet it? a written statement? is he going to come out and give a press conference? they want to be careful of when,

how and what they say. >> as recently as friday russia's foreign minister was urging the u.s. to take the first step and attempt da policemancy with north korea. do you think it's too late for that in. >> it depends on how to diplomacy is carrying out. if it's direct talks with north korea, it's too late for that. and in the past direct talks with north korea haven't achieved much. north korea has made it clear it wants to keep its nuclear weapons and attain better nuclear weapons at all cost and sees it fundamental for its survival. but russia is interested in having talks through russia and through china with the united states and russia would then try to use its influence over north korea, china would try to use its influence over north korea and in exchange they would extract concessions. when you ask for help, it comes with a price. so we will see how those negotiations proceed. and i've been told from sources

that the u.s. is very interested in those talks and that there will be efforts made to reach out to china and moscow to try to keease this crisis. >> what is russia's role, especially after this test? >> well, that is a difficult question. it's a fundamental question. what do russia and china really want. i think in the short term russia and certainly china don't want to see this escalate into a military conflict because if it were to become a military conflict, we're talking something on the scale of world war ii. we have massive loss of life, state collapse, use of nuclear weapons, use of chemical weapons, refugees flooding into china. in the short term the u.s., china and russia have common goals. but after that, when you start talking about what are the

medium and long term goals, that's when they start splitting away. china does not want to see north korea collapse because if the regime were to collapse,ty the assumption would be that the south korea would take over the peninsula, closely allied to the united states. and you would have american troops and south korean forces controlling the entire korean peninsula which is something that china does not want. it does not want an american friendly government right on its border, especially one that hosts a lot of troops. russia is trying to see this as an opportunity to reduce america's influence in the region, trying -- it sees that the u.s. is strategically weak right now, having a difficult time because of all of tihe infighting at home to strengthen its hands vis-a-vis the united states. and if the negotiations happen,

russia and china are playing for their interest, a reduction of military and political influence in the region. >> richard engel, thank you so much for your input. >> sure. >> well let's bring in adam mount. is senior fellow at the center for american progress. and adam, thanks for being here. how sure can the u.s. be that north korea actually has done what it said it's done, that an h bomb, it can fit it on an intercontinental ballistic missile. can we believe them in. >> we can note the particulars of the device that was tested without classified information, without knowing a great deal more than we do. the statements that north korea released and the photographs that it released earlier today are designed to convince us that they've tested a very fist kated two-stage thermonuclear weapon. an extremely difficult technical challenge but they've tried to convey enough data that we think

that that's what they're doing. we wouldn't know whether they could do that without being able to sample the air around the nuclear test site, without a great deal more information. we do know that north korea had been es xcavating the site. we know they were procuring thermonuclear fuel to help fuel one of the weapons and we know they were building their new generation of missile to carry heavy war heads with potentially higher yield. we knew a test was coming but we're not sure what the characteristics of the war head were. >> do we know how powerful this test bomb was? >> well, as we just heard from richard, there's a variety of different seismic readings that are happening and then we need to know more about the depth at which the weapon was tested. once we have those variables

filled in, we'll be able to get a much better estimate of the yield of the device. it was higher than any device tested in the past by several times over. it looks like it's somewhere between four and ten times as large as previous tests. it may not be a staged device, a two-stage device but it's certainly much more powerful and it's a major advance. >> you talk about the power here because today's test produced a seismic event of 6.3 magnitude. so what does that tell you about how north korea's capabilities have progressed even the year? >> well, they're clearly boosting the yield of the war head and they want to convey to the united states that this could be launched at any time. the statement earlier today said this war head was loaded on to an icbm missile. the message they're trying to

send to the united states is this thing is ready to go. it's ready to fire. it doesn't alter how we deter north korea. we would take the same steps to deter a one-stage device as we would to keep them from using a two-stage device. deterrence still works the same way, we're trying to prevent a larger boom. but the fact of the matter is, any nuclear device that goes off would be enormously damaging. >> and north korea emphasized that the fact is that the bomb was homemade. why is that important? >> it's important because they want to tell us we can't simply refrain -- we can't simple hold back the process by isolating them from the rest of the world. if it were true that north korea were getting a great deal of assistance from other countries, then maybe we could cut them off from the resources. whap what's been clear is that north

korea has become more and more sophisticated at developing these capabilities, missile bodies, reactors, reprocessing technology and then war head development themselves. it's clear they're gaining a great deal of technological sophistication and there's no easy answer that can be achieved by sanctions or cutting them off. >> adam mount, a senior fellow from the center for american progress. appreciate you being here. thanks for you input. >> thank you. well mandatory evacuations and that's the threat from hurricane harvey continues to linger over texas. we'll tell you what area is now in danger with the latest from houston. our best offer ever on an xt5. don't wait. our 2017 models will be moving fast. you can drive a car... or you can drive a cadillac. come in now before the end of our made to move 2017 clearance event and leave with

the perfect cadillac xt5 for your next adventure. choose a low mileage lease on this xt5 for around $339 per month. can make anyone slow downt and pull up a seat to the table. that's why she takes the time to season her turkey to perfection, and make stuffing from scratch. so that you can spend time on what really matters. marie callender's. it's time to savor. with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis? how do you chase what you love do what i did. ask your doctor about humira. it's proven to help relieve pain and protect joints from further irreversible damage in many adults. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira has been clinically studied for over 20 years. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure.

before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ready for a new chapter? talk to your rheumatologist about humira. this is humira at work. so we sent that sample i doff to ancestry. i was from ethnically. my ancestry dna results are that i am 26% nigerian. i am just trying to learn as much as i can about my culture. i put the gele on my head and i looked into the mirror and i was trying not to cry. because it's a hat, but it's like the most important hat i've ever owned.

discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com. now to houston where a mandatory evacuation order has been issued for over 4,000 homes impacted by hurricane harvey. maya rodriguez is live from the houston food bank. good morning to you. can you tell us about the order that mayor turner issued last night? >> reporter: right. there are 46700 dwellings on the west side of houston that the

mayor doesn't want people to be in basically. he issued a voluntary evacuation order on friday but still 279 people decided to stay in those particular homes. basically there are concerns about first responders getting if in if they're called because of an emergency. the mayor decided to issue a mandatory evacuation because of that starting at 7:00 a.m. today they're going to shut off the electricity in those affected areas. if you're in a dwelling, a home, a building, an apartment building not affected by floo flooding, the mayor says you can stay there. but if you were flooded they're issuing the mandatory evacuation for the 4600 homes. >> what kinds of support are the people that you're with in need of? >> reporter: right. we're at the houston food bank. this is the largest food bank in the country. and what they need are all kinds of things. nonperishable foods, toilettoil.

even at this early morning hour they're busy, loading things up. they had 2.4 million pounds of food donated and now they're dwiping 1.2 million pounds to agencies. they say they can make the money go so much further. they also need volunteers, people helping to get this distributed, to organize and sort it. it's a massive effort that is going on here. can you can imagine, there are tens of thousands of people in the houston metro area in need of this help. >> how long are people expected to rely on the food bank and other public services? >> reporter: the food bank people are telling us this is going to be a long recovery. we're talking about years. they expect people to need help here for years as they try to rebuild their lives after this

devastating storm and all of the flooding that they saw here in this area. >> that's remarkable. thank you so much, maya. and as we gauge reaction to north korea's alleged nuclear test, we're going to look at the china factor. how far will beijing go to diffuse north korea's nuclear program or is it simply too late. that's up next.

super-cool notebooks, done. that's mom taking care of business. and with the "25 cent event", office depot officemax takes care of mom! now, all this just 25 cents each! ♪ taking care of business

welcome back. i'm dara brown here at msnbc world head quarter in new york. at the half-hour. breaking news from north korea. south korea and china are condemning north korea for what they believe was the country's sixth nuclear missile test. first word of the possible test came around midnight eastern time, hours before north korea's state news agency, the country said they developed a peanut shaped hydrogen bomb that they can be mounted on an

intercontinental missile. it was significantly sfronger than the 5.1 tremor detected in 2016. south korea is pushing for mu uchl new u.n. sanctions. let's now go to nbc's ron allen in seoul, south korea. an ron, how have south korean officials reacted to these reports? >> reporter: well, we just saw a statement from the south korean president saying, in part, and i quote, i will not let the north korean provocation go unpunished. very tough language, along for calls with tougher sanctions, diplomacy and as you mentioned, the president for the first time has indicated he's going to seek to see if there's more u.s. military that can be brought to

this country, perhaps based in this country as a deterrent to north korea. there's a huge u.s. military presence here and the south korean president has been adamant about trying to find a diplomatic solution to this problem, to talking with the north koreans, to reconciliation. and i'm sure that's still the first priority. but the reaction to this has been very strong because this has been a monumental event. there's been a steady escalation, a steadying ratcheting up of tension, a steady movement forward by the north koreans in terms of the sophistication of its missile program and now apparently the nuclear testing program as well. a lot of concern here in south korea as well as in the united states. we understand there have been discussions already by telephone with u.s. officials and the south korean and japanese counter parts. and we understand there's going to be a telephone conversation later on today with president trump open the south korean

president. most analysts say they're limited. sanctions have been brought to bear on the north koreans. the sanctions have had very little effect if any. military options, most people looking at this see catastrophic consequences of some sort of military confrontation here on a piece of land that's very close quarters where there are literally tens of millions of people in harm's way. diplomacy of course is something else that will be pushed and tried again. but the chinese and to a lesser extent the russians seem as if they've done as much as they will to push the north koreans. perhaps given what nay ethey've apparently done today, setting of a hydrogen bomb, maybe the chinese will be encouraged to do more. all of that remains to be seen as again tensions here on the korean peninsula have taken a huge step, a monumental step.

a lot of concern about what's going to happen here next. >> and the tensions have certainly increased. has south korea express concern about the tough talk coming from the united states forward north korea and perhaps that's what's ratcheting up these tests? >> reporter: well, at this point the south koreans are mainly concerned about diplomacy. they're not suggesting or pointing the finger at the trump administration noor r at the u. in particular for what has happened today. there's some concern expressed in the region about -- questions about what exactly is the trump administration's posture to north korea. they have sent conflicting signals some would say. the president has said things that are very strong. his advisers, can the cabinet secretaries have said things more inclined towards diplomacy.

others in the region are getting mixed signals from the trump administration, confuse odd f what they will do. and perhaps that's what the trump strategy is. it's created a lot of questions about what might happen, what the united states posture is. and there's a big concern here about a miscalculation, a m misinterpretation. misinterpreting it as something aggressive when they may not have been the intention. a lot of concern about what a r mishap or misinterpretation. a lot of concern over this step that the north koreans have taken. their missile program had been advancing rapidly. we knew that the sixth nuclear test was on the calendar. it's not a surprise that it's happened now if in fact that's what's happened. but we wait to see what the response is especially from the white house. >> thank you for that report. appreciate you being there.

let's brings in garrett haake at the white house. good morning. is this any sense that we might get word from the white house in a response to this? >> reporter: well, we certainly will get response at some point today. the president's schedule is clear, no other pub lulic event. the white house set to respond at a time and place of nair choosing. it was only a week ago that the president responded in fairly short order to the north koreans launching a missile that flew over one of the islands of japan president. at the time the president said that that act showed contempt for north korea's neighbor saying all options are on the table. that's the hanging threat on north korea established as recently as the middle of last week. no word yet from the white house on the timing or the manner in which the president might respond or further ratchet up the threats today. >> national security adviser h. r. mcmaster has been busy

speaking with our allies in the region. can you tell us about those conversations? >> reporter: we know about those conversations because the south korean counter part po h.r. mcmaster, the south korean counter part was the one to release information about that call. describing it as an emergency phone call. obviously given the stakes, it was. the white house keeping all of this close to the vest. but not a surprise that one like h.r. mcmaster would be in touch with all of our allies in the vie john befo region before the president might speak to them. and the president spoke to the prime minister of japan last night on his way back from texas before any of this happened. so the president has been engaged in these conversations in the lead-up to this and we'll see at a time and place of the white house's choosing how the president choose to respond to this latest provocation.

>> and the sun is just coming up here on the east coast. thank you so much. let's turn now to china and keir simmons. keir is there reporting. the tremors from the test could be felt in parts of china. how are people reacting there? >> reporter: well, the president of china has been speaking here in this city for a major economic conference. he was opening that conference and has happened a number of times in the past, north korea has somewhat overshadowed his aim of show casing china's economy and industry. that there have annoyed the chinese president. he will be trying to walk a line between the support that china has for north korea as an ally and attempting to stand with the rest of the international community against this north korean nuclear program and the chinese issuing a strongly

worded statement condemning the nuclear test while at the same time president xi, the chinese leader, not mentions north korea at all in that speech. so it is difficult for the chinese. many people believe this is the one country that could put pressure on north korea and change the equation. and then there are the russians. president putin arriving here tonight for the conference. the two leaders expected to meet this evening. president putin warning just this week that the korean peninsula is on the brink of a conflict and suggesting that negotiation should be the way forward. opposing u.s. military intervention. that is the same that you here from the chinese. what those statements don't do is to spprovide an answer is wh do they do if north korea is

able to developing the nuclear program with long range missiles capable of reaching north korea. it's a difficult diplomatic chess game and china and russia are at the center of it. >> what does this test actually do to the relations between the u.s. and china? >> reporter: well, just in terms of china and north korea, it's easy to exaggerate the closeness of the two countries. they are traditionally historically close. but at the same time, the leader of north korea has never met with president xi, the leader of china. so many experts who look closely at that relationship say there are tensions just between those two countries and china is not able to simply dictate north korea like it can a puppet state. in terms of the relationship between china and the u.s., that is absolutely crucial. there are many who say that if the u.s. puts pressure on china,

possibly bringing in sanctions against a chinese bank that would force the chinese to force pyongyang to goi along with the international request to no longer pursue the nuclear program. others say that that kind of move by the u.s. would inevitably lead to an economic retaliation by china. and while it may avoid a military escalation, an economic escalation would take place. it's another example of whether every option that washington faces, president trump faces, has consequences and they are not pretty consequences. >> thank you so much. joining us now by phone is gordan chang, a columnist with the daily beast. and gordon, thank you so much for being here.

how should the u.s. respond to today's action by north korea? >> i think the u.s. should tell moscow and beijing that it is going to submit a u.n. security council resolution for an complete embargo of north korea. and that if the chinese and the russians don't immediately sign on, that the united states will then start enforcing its laws against chinese banks that had been laundering money for the north koreans. this will have an e monormous impact on the chies knees system. they have been involved in very dirty business for the north koreans. that could put the chinese financial system into chaos, could rock the economy, could even bring down the communist party. so president trump doesn't really need to negotiate with the chinese here. he just needs to get on the phone, tell xi jinping what he's

going to do. we have overwhelming leverage over china we just haven't used it. there could be blowback from the united states but you cannot pursue misguided policies over the course of the decades and still believe that you have solutions that don't cost the united states. we've got to do something. because as we've seen, the north koreans are intent on developing capabilities that they could very well in one way or another use against the united states and our allies in france. >> gordon, if this turns out to be a nuclear test, which they're saying it was a hydrogen bomb, let's talk about the sanctions. do you think it will work? the harsh rhetoric from president trump didn't work. >> well, harsh rhetoric never really works if the other side doesn't believe you're willing to back it up. and so forth the chinese and the north koreans have sort of looked at this and yawned. the united states has only been

signaling to the chinese that it's willing to impose cost os them. we did that in the last week of june when among other things the trump administration to its credit unplugged a small chinese bank for money laundering for the north koreans. and we did that by declaring a primary money laundering fund. it denied them access to accounts and cut them off from the global financial system. but the bank is a minor player. if we go and look at for instance, bank of china, named in a 2016 u.n. report for money laundering, there's all sorts of things that we can do. and these will have real costs on china at a sensitive them for team because it's in the runup to the 19th party congress. xi jinping has a lot to lose. so trump has enormous leverage between now and that date. >> gordon, thank you so much. columnist for the daily beast

and author of nuclear showdown. north korea takes on the world. if what are the military options? colonel jack jacobs joins us next. when i walked through a snowstorm for a cigarette, that's when i knew i had to quit. for real this time. that's why i'm using nicorette. only nicorette gum has patented dual-coated technology for great taste, plus intense craving relief. every great why needs a great how. ♪

wise man, i'm nervous about affecting my good credit score. i see you've planted an uncertainty tree. chop that thing down. the clarity you seek... lies within the creditwise app from capital one. creditwise helps you protect your credit. and it's completely free for everyone. it's free for everyone? do hawks use the stars to navigate? i don't know. aw, i thought you did. i don't know either. either way it's free for everyone. cool. what's in your wallet? hundreds of dollars on youmy car insurance. saved me huh. i should take a closer look at geico... (dog panting) geico has a 97% customer satisfaction rating! and fast and friendly claims service. speaking of service? oooo, just out. it was in. out. in! out. in! what about now? that was our only shuttlecock. take a closer look at geico. great savings. and a whole lot more.

heri think i might burst..... totally immersed weekenders. whatever kind of weekender you are, there's a hilton for you. book your weekend break direct with hilton.com and join the summer weekenders.

we're following breaking news this morning, a possible nuclear test by north korea. first word of the possible test came around midnight eastern time. hours earlier north korea's state news agency said the company developed a peanut shaped hydrogen bomb that they say could be mounted on a hydrogen bomb. south korea and china are condemning north korea's test. joining us now by phone is nbc's

reporter, courtney cue by. good morning are any of your sources confirming whether or not this was a nuclear test. >> no. . u.s. military and government officials are still assessing what this was exactly and not confirming anything. it's not uncommon for south korea and japan to be out ahead of the u.s. on assessments, even assessments on ballistic missiles we've seen that with the icbm test just last week where they get out ahead get specific details before the u.s. military and government confirm something has happened. so at this point the u.s. is trying to figure out what did happen whether this was some sort of underground test. what we tend to see in situations like this is the u.s. will send up a wc 135 aircraft called a constant phoenix, it's generally called a sniffer plane. it goes up and tests at mmosphe

conditions. it'll gather isotopes if this was a nuclear test. and the aircraft, assuming it gets there quickly enough, it should be able to scoop up atmospheric particulars and be able to tell the u.s. and the world exactly what this may have been. >> when south korea says that it's considering deploying the most powerful tactical u.s. weapons, what does that mean? >> i think the most mead thing the south korea will do with the u.s. military equipment is continue the deployed of the thaad. it got a lot of attention this year when they sent in the thaad, but i think what a lot of people don't realize is it's in its initial operating capability

right now so there are a full thaad battery would have six tubes, what they're called. right now they only have two. it would provide more defensive capability to south korea and to the region in general. i think some other things look back to april when there was a lot of assessment that the north koreans were going to test a nuclear weapon in conjunction with one of their national days but the u.s. responded by sending in more shows of force. there was a carrier that came out. there are other capabilities they have in the region they could beef up, the u.s. is not sending anything additional, of course that could change. there's a b 1 bomber presence at guam. we see those flying often after a ballistic missile test. these are the most advanced and

most modern f 35s that the u.s. military has in its arsenal. >> thank you for that input. i want to bring in colonel jack jacobs. from what you know and heard, sit plausible they did test a hydrogen bomb, and how much more powerful is this than an atomic bomb. >> it did sound like they detonated a hydrogen bomb because it was more powerful. you can make very, very powerful bombs but this one appears to have been much larger and therefore we're pretty certain -- the people i have talked to are certain this is a hydrogen bomb. >> how much closer has this brought the u.s. and its allies to actual military conflict or is that still not likely. >> i don't think it's very likely. if our objective is to make sure that north korea doesn't continue developing its nuclear capability, nothing short of

utterly destroying north korea is going to work. we're not going to do that because that's going to bring china in, who also has nuclear weapons. so we will complain loudly convene a session of the u.n. security council conduct fly overs and so on. military action is not going to do the trick. a naval blockade we're not going to do for the same reason. a conventional attack we're not going to do for the same reason. i think the thing to do is think back on something your last guest said is that squeezing the path to north korea is china and the way to get china to act finally is to squeeze chinese institutions. and that's at a particularly difficult time for china, we will get china's attention in that regard and that's the only

way we'll be able to get to north korea, because purely military means is not going to do it and defensive means, cyber, thaad is the only way to. >> colonel jack jacobs thank you so much. the big question does north korea have a hydrogen bomb and what does that mean if they do? we'll bring you the latest developments up next. hey grandpa. hey, kid. really good to see you. you too. you tell grandma you were going fishing again? maybe. (vo) the best things in life keep going. that's why i got a subaru, too. introducing the all-new crosstrek. love is out there. find it in a subaru crosstrek. you don't let anything lkeep you sidelined. come on! that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein, and 26 vitamins and minerals...

for the strength and energy, to get back to doing what you love. ensure, always be you. haven't you ever wanted somwatch your step.y? a pilot like you should be serving your country. you're c.i.a.? based on an incredible true story... we're sending you to columbia. of the c.i.a.'s biggest secret. i have helped build the biggest drug cartel this world has ever seen. tom cruise. all this is legal? if you're doin' it for the good guys. [ police sirens ] no mas. no mas. [ laughter ] [ gun shot ] woo! we recognize the dangers involved here. no you don't. shoot the gringo. american made. rated r. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it?

yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪

good morning everyone. i'm dara brown. at msnbc world headquarters in new york with breaking news from north korea. a country that claims it's undertaking it sixth nuclear weapons test. the first word of the test came around midnight. it detected a 6.3 magnitude earthquake explosion. they said they developed a