Story highlights Air Force planes conceived to monitor nuclear tests during Cold War

U.S. Air Force has two radiation "sniffer" jets

Planes collect and filter air, testing for traces of radiation

(CNN) A U.S. Air Force radiation "sniffer" jet may soon be flying off the Korean Peninsula to help determine if North Korea's claims of a hydrogen bomb test are true, a U.S. military official says.

The White House said Wednesday it was skeptical of North Korea's claim that it successfully detonated a thermonuclear device.

"The initial analysis is not consistent with the North Korean claims," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

But the Pentagon has a way to be more certain whether a hydrogen bomb was tested.

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