Report: North Korea tests nuclear weapon

[Balta1701]

So, this is one case where the topic title says it all. AP Link. CNN Link.

 

The BBC ran with unconfirmed reports of a seismic event of roughly a magnitude of 3.5 occuring in the North of the country. Because bomb explosions produce a different sort of seismic signature from a normal earthquake, it will be possible at some point to confirm whether or not this report is true and whether or not it was an explosion.

 

This follows several days of rumors and threats from the North suggesting they were on the verge of conducting a test.

[Balta1701]

USGS web site.

 

Earthquake Details

Magnitude 4.2 (Light)

# Date-Time Monday, October 9, 2006 at 01:35:27 (UTC)

= Coordinated Universal Time

# Monday, October 9, 2006 at 10:35:27 AM

= local time at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 41.311°N, 129.114°E

Depth 0 km (~0 mile) set by location program

Region NORTH KOREA

Distances 70 km (45 miles) N of Kimchaek, North Korea

90 km (55 miles) SW of Chongjin, North Korea

180 km (110 miles) S of Yanji, Jilin, China

385 km (240 miles) NE of PYONGYANG, North Korea

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 14.9 km (9.3 miles); depth fixed by location program

 

A magnitude 4 event is supposedly equivalent to a blast of slightly over 1 kiloton in size.

[KipWellsFan]

f***, f***, f***

[EvilMonkey]

Sorta makes you wish we had a missle defense system that worked right about now.

[3 BeWareTheNewSox 5]

A senior U.S. official said China was given a 20-minute warning ahead of the test and in turn told the United States, Japan and South Korea about getting the advance notice.

 

so no, most likely not a coincidence

[southsider2k5]

So how long until this technology and/or weaponry ends up in the wrong hands?

[Soxy]

So how long until this technology and/or weaponry ends up in the wrong hands?

Isn't North Korea wrong enough hands?

[Steff]

So how long until this technology and/or weaponry ends up in the wrong hands?

 

 

 

A long time ago.

[southsider2k5]

Isn't North Korea wrong enough hands?

 

I can think of about 200 other nations I would rather see have the bomb, but I don't think in their present state, NK's biggest threat is actually using the bomb, but more of selling the bomb to people who will actually use it. Truth be told I think the biggest thrust of this is to try to blackmail the world into rescuing their failed economy/system without actually releasing any grip on controlling every aspect of everything that goes on in NK. I think if they fail to win huge concessions from the rest of the world, they will be on the black market selling all of this to the highest bidder, who hopefully isn't a group like Al Qaeda who had the guts to use it.

[AbeFroman]

Can someone the significance of a nuclear test? We've known for at least two years now that North Korea has at least one nuke. So what difference does it make if they test it? I'm sure we'll see all kinds of diplomatic responses now... but what good does waiting until after they test it do?

 

I guess I don't understand why testing a nuke is so much a greater threat than just having one...

 

Also, there have been recent reports of Kim Jong Il's poor health... Anyone think the timing of this is curious? Presumably, the DPRK could have done this at anytime... why now?

Edited October 9, 2006 by AbeFroman

[Balta1701]

Can someone the significance of a nuclear test? We've known for at least two years now that North Korea has at least one nuke. So what difference does it make if they test it? I'm sure we'll see all kinds of diplomatic responses now... but what good does waiting until after they test it do?

Remember the Type-o-Dong 2? The missle that could hit the U.S. mainland but fizzled out over the summer?

 

Now we know that those things work. And so does everyone else, including potential buyers.

[southsider2k5]

Remember the Type-o-Dong 2? The missle that could hit the U.S. mainland but fizzled out over the summer?

 

Now we know that those things work. And so does everyone else, including potential buyers.

 

With the complete lack of hard currency they have, and the lack of a dependable delivery system, it wa sa big deal for them to SHOW they could do it. We have known for a long time they have the materials and ability, now its a done deal.

[Balta1701]

With the complete lack of hard currency they have, and the lack of a dependable delivery system, it wa sa big deal for them to SHOW they could do it. We have known for a long time they have the materials and ability, now its a done deal.

Slight but important edit; they don't have a reliable delivery system to hit the U.S. They have repeatedly shot missiles over Japan IIRC.

[NorthSideSox72]

A senior U.S. official said China was given a 20-minute warning ahead of the test and in turn told the United States, Japan and South Korea about getting the advance notice.

 

so no, most likely not a coincidence

 

That, to me, is actually an encouraging sign in itself. The fact that China both has the means, and the desire, to inform the US, Japan and South Korea of such a thing inside a 20 minute window.

[Balta1701]

So, it usually does take a while for the USGS to give final intensity numbers on seismic events, but at least based on the preliminary numbers, some people are starting to conclude that this test was actuallya dud.

 

(It is really, really hard to build a 1 kiloton nuclear device. A plutonium bomb should produce about a 20 kiloton blast at minimum...because you need to have enough plutonium there to achieve critical mass and a fission chain.)

[southsider2k5]

So, it usually does take a while for the USGS to give final intensity numbers on seismic events, but at least based on the preliminary numbers, some people are starting to conclude that this test was actuallya dud.

 

(It is really, really hard to build a 1 kiloton nuclear device. A plutonium bomb should produce about a 20 kiloton blast at minimum...because you need to have enough plutonium there to achieve critical mass and a fission chain.)

 

Well I hope they are right.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Edited October 10, 2006 by Athomeboy_2000

[AirScott]

if you're going to steer this thread to the obscure, here's a good one:

 

South Korea's Pyeonghwa (Peace) Motors Corporation plans to stage an inter-Korean golf game next month in the North's capital city, Pyongyang, company officials say.

 

"We have agreed with North Korean authorities to hold a friendly golf competition between the two Koreas from July 30 to Aug. 5 at a golf course in Pyongyang," said an official at Pyeonghwa Motors, which has started a business venture in North Korea.

 

Fortunately for all entrants, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il will not be playing. If the official government media is to be believed, Kim is easily the greatest golfer, the world has ever seeen.

 

Pyongyang media say North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il enjoys golf, having shot multiple holes-in-one during his first try at the game. He reportedly aced five holes and finished 38 under par on the golf course. The "Great Leader" routinely shoots three or four holes-in-one per round, the government-controlled media reported.

 

link

[Balta1701]

[HuskyCaucasian]

Colbert is freaking awesome. The sunglass thing.... HYSTERICAL!

[southsider2k5]

France calls NK Nuke test a failure

[Rex Kickass]

John McCain is dead wrong about North Korea.

 

Sen. John McCain has skidded his Straight Talk Express off the highway into a gopher's ditch of slime. The moment came Tuesday, when he responded to charges by Sen. Hillary Clinton, his potential rival in the 2008 presidential election, that George W. Bush bears some responsibility for North Korea's newborn status as a nuclear-armed power.

 

Here, according to the Washington Post, is what McCain said in a campaign speech near Detroit:

 

I would remind Senator Clinton and other Democrats critical of Bush administration policies that the framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated [with North Korea] was a failure. Every single time the Clinton administration warned the Koreans not to do something—not to kick out the IAEA inspectors, not to remove the fuel rods from their reactor—they did it. And they were rewarded every single time by the Clinton administration with further talks.

 

McCain's version of history goes beyond "revisionism" to outright falsification. It is the exact opposite of what really happened. Let's take a look at the plain facts....

[kapkomet]

John McCain is dead wrong about North Korea.

It's ALWAYS George W. Bush's fault.

[southsider2k5]

A couple of things here... I do agree with McCains assessment that we continually rewarded Il for doing things he had agreed to do in the first place, and Slate saids effectively the samething.

 

This combination of sticks and carrots led Kim Il-Sung to call off his threats—the fuel rods weren't removed, the inspectors weren't kicked out—and, a few months later, to the signing of the Agreed Framework.

 

We had to bribe Il, to not start overtly building nukes. How is not that rewarding him for something Clinton told NK not to do?

 

Also we keep hearing about Bush not dealing with NK, but we have been in six way talks with them pretty much all along, and where has that gotten us? Are the talking invalid because we included more people than just the US? I don't get that, especially after the US was essentially lambasted for "going it alone" in Iraq. China has been bending over backwards as their ally and supplier of 80% of their fuel to get them not to do something stupid, which guess what, they did. Even when the Clinton admin was negotiating directly with NK, like we keep hearing Bush should, they were still threatening to restart their nuclear program, and didn't stop until we bribed them to do so. That isn't talking, that is rewarding a child for throwing a temper tantrum.

 

The pattern of Il doing something drastic and then getting bribed to not do it again, is well established. Il just didn't seem to realize that this time the other side has no interest in rewarding his bad behavior.

[NorthSideSox72]

It's ALWAYS George W. Bush's fault.

And anytime anyone dares criticize Bush, his administration or anyone in the GOP, even if its an op ed writer, its liberal media bias.

 

This righteous indignance s*** is getting on my nerves. The article is bringing up specific counterpoints in a quote by John McCain... and your response is to instantly dismiss the entire article by turning Bush into a victim. I call B.S.

 

If the GOP is so interested in personal responsibility, and if they really want to make some political ground, then I wish they'd quit the with the victim mentality. Screaming "liberal bias" every time something critical comes up only works for so long. Find a new line.

 

EDIT: Oh yeah, and before I hear it... the Dems need to find something better to do than vilify Bush. He's pretty much dead and buried now anyway, and will be an unpopular lame duck in 2 months (and probably facing a split Congress). Time to move on to policy, and setting up themes for 2008. Quit with the "we were in the dark about Iraq" B.S. too - the writing was on the wall before the shooting started.

Edited October 12, 2006 by NorthSideSox72