Report: North Korea conducts nuke test 1 minute ago

[darrels joy]

Report: North Korea conducts nuke test 1 minute ago

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean government officials said North Korea performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test Monday, the South's Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korean officials could not immediately confirm the report.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun convened an urgent meeting of security advisers over the issue, Yonhap reported.

The North said last week it would conduct a nuclear test as part of its deterrent against a possible U.S. invasion.

The director of South Korea's monitoring center that is watching for a test with sound and seismic detectors declined to immediately comment on the report. The U.S. Geological Survey said it had detected no seismic activity in North Korea, although it was not clear whether a blast would be strong enough for its sensors.

[melody1181]

To bad it didn't malfunction and blow that crazy moron off the planet.

[locksly]

Bad new for us.

[Boats]

I heard this morning that they won't put it on any rockets they will be selling the nuke to any radical country that can pay for it. Now that's scary.

[SuperScout]

Any subterrernean explosion of th 5-15 KT range is primary evidence of a rather unsophisitcated device, much too large to attach to any known rocketry or missle system. For the time being, at least, we do know that the North K's don't have the techological skills to miniaturize their nuke weaponry to the point of making it exportable. What they may have produced for export is the hot waste material that might be able to be used in a 'dirty bomb.'

This dirty by-product is more easily transported, but still detectable. Retrospectively, we really have to apply the thought process to Iraq and SH's maniacal desire to have relevance in the world. His nuke scientists were much closer to developing a weapon; the tons of yellow cake, and other sophisticated engineering material he had accumulated were evidence of his intent.

[Keith_Hixson]

Some aren't totally convinced it was a nuclear explosion. Saying an explosion of other explosive materials if conscentrated could possibly produce an earthquake. However, they believe it is more likely an Atomic explosion.

Keith

[Seascamp]

The initial report indicated the yield was about the equivalent of 550 tons of TNT. Considering the ICBMs that were aimed at us for three plus decades came in at 200 millions tons TNT equivalent, each, the North Korean test nuke is small and the equivalent of a 16 aircraft B-52 strike on the same spot using conventional bombs.

Still deadly and lethal and probable evidence that Kim Jung Il has some level of nuke capability and increased ability to extort money from the neighborhood. We?ll see if everyone rolls over and pony?s up the extortion and placation money again, or if a real line is drawn in the sand this time, or no.

North Korea has little capability to sustain their population or infrastructure needs so this cycle of crisis, extortion and placation goes into a new phase now and the size of the money demands will increase proportionally, I figure.

Short of grabbing up South Korea and bleeding them white, Kim has few options but to increase the scope of the extortion scam, or admit what a calamitous failure they have going in North Korea and plead their case. Opening up and getting in the real world is not likely while Kim holds the forces of the internal North Korean terror infrastructure.

My opinion, but that nutter Kim is smart enough to know that if he sells a nuke and some population gets toasted n? poofed, something really, really bad is going to happen to his personal ?paradise? and he?ll slither out of his extensive tunnel and bunker system and see that considerable landscape reorganization has taken place.

Scamp

[Robert Ryan]

Well lets not waste any time, nuke North Korea, and make it unihabitable for the next 500 years.

[Boats]

Mr. Ryan - that's what MacArthur wanted. We can't do that as we would then contaminate all the surround nations who are just as unhappy about their nuke program. They all knew it just waited too long to do anything about it. Now its a mess.

[Seascamp]

One of the newsies put this up. Spot-on I'd say.


"It would appear that Kim Jong II is the political leader of North Korea, but behind the smoke and mirrors he?s no leader at all ? he is a dictator who feasts off the abject poverty and desperation of his subjects. Today, he smiles upon them from his distant throne: ?A great leap forward,? for our country, he claims."

Scamp