North Korea says it conducted nuclear test

[ACE844]

I may be wrong on this and I hope if that is the case that the QP's and other here will correct my ignorance on this. I also have no love for this egotistical mountain pygmy lollipop king-dictator.

Isn't history rife with examples of cultures, tribes, countries, etc..; which have been backed against a wall and because they couldn't feed the populace and had the tools to conquer what they lacked they gave 'conquest' a go? Wouldn't further strangling his ability to survive actually give him a viable reason and impetus to go to war?

In this case is it plausible that if the 'Herr Hasglasses thesizeofa 1950'stelevision' does go off his rocker and launch tactical nukes. Do any of you believe that China or Russia will back him up a second time? I was just curious what some of you folks in the hypothetical may think about this?

[Pete S]

Originally Posted by ACE844

In this case is it plausible that if the 'Herr Hasglasses thesizeofa 1950'stelevision' does go off his rocker and launch tactical nukes. Do any of you believe that China or Russia will back him up a second time? I was just curious what some of you folks in the hypothetical may think about this?

He won't launch nukes as a preemptive strike on South Korea/Japan.
He may, however, launch a ground war. And when he starts loosing, lauch nukes.

I don't think Russia or China will back him.
China doesn't want the NKorean refugees.
Russia probably doesn't care, not their problem.

Iran on the other hand, maybe.
If they don't already have everything they need for their nuke program, they may come out and verbally support them.

UN won't do anything preemptive.

I'm waiting to see what Japan does.
I'm wondering if this will be enough for them drop their anti-nuclear ways and weaponize.

[The Reaper]

Problem is, Seoul is so close to the DMZ that he could probably commence shelling/rocketing the city within 24 hours of starting the ground offensive. They can start the SCUD campain without crossing the border.

What will the South (and us) give them to stop it?

For that matter, Japan is under the missile threat as well, and is also under our nuke umbrella.

We have the capability right now to destroy NK within 60 minutes, if we have the motivation and the will to do so, and they cannot touch us, other possibly than the troops in South Korea. If we launched a coordinated land and sea based ballistic missile attack, they could probably not even be able to do that. In ten years, we may not be able to stop them from getting off a limited first strike. Standing down the missile defense development is a bad idea at this time.

TR

[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by Pete S

Russia probably doesn't care, not their problem.

A different interpretation of Russia's interests in the Korean Peninsula can be found here <<LINK>>.

See also p. 121 in Russian Foreign Policy:Sources and Implications available here <<LINK>>.

[Slantwire]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

What will the South (and us) give them to stop it?

My knee-jerk reaction is, the answer to this question should be delivered by B-2.

[ACE844]

Originally Posted by North Korea’s Nuclear Test: Another Fizzle? Hans Kristensen, North Korea, Nuclear Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons

The Korean Central News Agency reportedly has announced that North Korea “successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test on May 25 as part of measures to bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense.” Several news media reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense estimating the test had a yield of approximately 10 to 20 kilotons.

Yet the preliminary seismic data published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) shows that the test had a seismic magnitude of 4.7, only slightly more powerful than the 4.3 of the 2006 test.

Was it another fizzle? We’ll have to wait for more analysis of the seismic data, but so far the early news media reports about a “Hiroshima-size” nuclear explosion seem to be overblown.

Source
Secondary source

[Team Sergeant]

I say it was TNT, about 100 tons or something of that nature.

Detonated underground so the north koreans could say they detonated a nuclear weapon, but, I say the north koreans don't have the intellectual capacity to build such a device.

I say they enjoy making the world "think" they have a nuclear device just to gain some sort of national/military credibility.

You detonate above ground and you have 100% proof positive that you indeed possess a device, you detonate 100 tons of TNT below ground no one is wiser.

I ain't buying it.

my .02

TS

[Sdiver]

Looks as if they conducted another one.
The USGS says the "explosion" was a 4.7 to 4.9 on the richter scale. The same reading as NK's 2009 test.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Defying U.N. warnings, North Korea on Tuesday conducted its third nuclear test in the remote, snowy northeast, taking a crucial step toward its goal of building a bomb small enough to be fitted on a missile capable of striking the United States.

North Korea said the atomic test was merely its "first response" to what it called U.S. threats, and said it will continue with unspecified "second and third measures of greater intensity" if Washington maintains its hostility.

The underground test, which set off powerful seismic waves, drew immediate condemnation from Washington, the U.N. and others. Even its only major ally, China, summoned the North's ambassador for a dressing-down.

President Barack Obama, who was scheduled to give a State of the Union address later Tuesday, said nuclear tests "do not make North Korea more secure." Instead, North Korea has "increasingly isolated and impoverished its people through its ill-advised pursuit of weapons of mass destruction," he said in a statement.

North Korea claimed the device was smaller than in previous tests; Seoul said it likely produced a bigger explosion.

The test was a defiant response to U.N. orders to shut down atomic activity or face more sanctions and international isolation. It will likely draw more sanctions from the United States and other countries at a time when North Korea is trying to rebuild its moribund economy and expand its engagement with the outside world.

Several U.N. resolutions bar North Korea from conducting nuclear or missile tests because the U.N. Security Council considers Pyongyang a would-be proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and its nuclear testing a threat to international peace and stability. North Korea dismisses that as a double standard, and claims the right to build nuclear weapons as a defense against the United States, which has been seen as enemy No. 1 since the 1950-53 Korean War. The U.S. stations more than 28,000 troops in South Korea to protect its ally.

Tuesday's test is North Korea's first since young leader Kim Jong Un took power of a country long estranged from the West. The test will likely be portrayed in North Korea as a strong move to defend the nation against foreign aggression, particularly from the U.S.

"The test was conducted in a safe and perfect way on a high level, with the use of a smaller and light A-bomb, unlike the previous ones, yet with great explosive power," North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said, confirming speculation that seismic activity near Kilju around midday was a nuclear test.

North Korea was punished by more U.N. sanctions after a December launch of a rocket that the U.N. and Washington called a cover for a banned missile test. Pyongyang said it was a peaceful, and successful, bid to send a satellite into space.

The timing of the test is significant. It came hours before Obama's speech and only days before the Saturday birthday of Kim Jong Un's father, late leader Kim Jong Il, whose memory North Korean propaganda has repeatedly linked to the country's nuclear ambitions.

This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, and in late February South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye will be inaugurated.

In Pyongyang, where it was snowing Tuesday, North Koreans gathered around televisions to watch a 3 p.m. TV broadcast announcing the nuclear test.

The test shows the world that North Korea is a "nuclear weapons state that no one can irritate," Kim Mun Chol, a 42-year-old Pyongyang citizen, told The Associated Press in the North Korean capital. "Now we have nothing to be afraid of in the world."

The National Intelligence Service in Seoul told lawmakers that North Korea may conduct an additional nuclear test and test-launch a ballistic missile in response to U.N. talks about imposing more sanctions, according to the office of South Korean lawmaker Jung Chung-rae, who attended the private meeting. Analysts have also previously speculated that Pyongyang might conduct multiple tests, possibly of plutonium and uranium devices.

North Korea is estimated to have enough weaponized plutonium for four to eight bombs, according to American nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker.

It wasn't immediately clear to outside experts whether the device exploded Tuesday was small enough to fit on a missile, and whether it was fueled by plutonium or highly enriched uranium. A successful test would take North Korean scientists a step closer to building a nuclear warhead that can reach U.S. shores —seen as the ultimate goal of North Korea's nuclear program.

In 2006, and 2009, North Korea is believed to have tested devices made of plutonium. But in 2010, Pyongyang revealed a program to enrich uranium, which would give the country a second source of bomb-making materials — a worrying development for the U.S. and its allies.

"This latest test and any further nuclear testing could provide North Korean scientists with additional information for nuclear warhead designs small enough to fit on top of its ballistic missiles," Daryl Kimball and Greg Thielmann wrote on the private Arms Control Association's blog. "However, it is likely that additional testing would be needed for North Korea to field either a plutonium or enriched uranium weapon."

Uranium would be a worry because plutonium facilities are large and produce detectable radiation, making it easier for outsiders to find and monitor. However, uranium centrifuges can be hidden from satellites, drones and nuclear inspectors in caves, tunnels and other hard-to-reach places. Highly enriched uranium also is easier than plutonium to engineer into a weapon.

Monitoring stations in South Korea detected an earthquake in the North with a magnitude of 4.9 and the South's Defense Ministry said that corresponds to an estimated explosive yield of 6-7 kilotons.

The yields of the North's 2006 and 2009 tests were estimated at 1 kiloton and 2 to 6 kilotons, respectively, spokesman Kim Min-seok said. By comparison, U.S. nuclear bombs that flattened Nagasaki and Hiroshima during World War II were estimated at 13 kilotons and 22 kilotons, respectively, Kim said.

The test is a product of North Korea's military-first, or songun, policy, and shows Kim Jong Un is running the country much as his father did, said Daniel Pinkston of the International Crisis Group think tank.

The decision to push ahead with a test will be a challenge to the U.N. Security Council, which recently punished Pyongyang for launching the December long-range rocket. In condemning that launch and imposing more sanctions on Pyongyang, the council had demanded a stop to future launches and ordered North Korea to respect a ban on nuclear activity — or face "significant action" by the U.N.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the test in a statement. The Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the nuclear test, and several ambassadors said they expected strong criticism.

China expressed firm opposition to the test but called for a calm response by all sides. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi summoned North Korea's ambassador and delivered a "stern representation" and demanded that North Korea "swiftly return to the correct channel of dialogue and negotiation," the ministry said in a statement.

The other part of a credible North Korean nuclear deterrent is its missile program. While it has capable short and medium-range missiles, it has struggled in tests of technology for long-range missiles needed to carry bombs to the United States, although it did launch the satellite in December.

North Korea isn't close to having a nuclear bomb it can use on the United States or its allies. Instead, Hecker said in a posting on Stanford University's website, "it wants to hold U.S. interests at risk of a nuclear attack to deter us from regime change and to create international leverage and diplomatic maneuvering room."


http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-co...091212327.html