N.Korea may have conducted another nuclear test: NHK

[IndianaGreen]

N.Korea may have conducted another nuclear test: NHK

TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea appears to have conducted another nuclear test, Japanese national broadcaster NHK said on Wednesday.

Japanese government sources had information that there was a tremor in North Korea this morning and they were checking on the possibility of a nuclear test, NHK said.

Defying warnings from its neighbors, the United States and the U.N. Security Council, North Korea announced on Monday that it had conducted its first-ever nuclear test. Pyongyang had earlier said a U.S. "threat of nuclear war and sanctions" had forced its hand.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-10-10T234209Z_01_TKV002588_RTRUKOC_0_US-KOREA-NORTH-NUCLEAR-TEST.xml

[Deja Q]

1. Well, they're going to get sanctions now.

Insane dumbasses... (and who's threatening nuclear war now? THEY are.)

China, also not too keen on hefty punishment after the 1st test, must now be thinking other thoughts: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2551251 for their reaction.

[IndianaGreen]

2. Kim and Bush are having a pissing contest at our expense

When it comes to calling Bush's bluffs, there is no one that comes close to Kim Jong Il. It takes a lunatic to know a lunatic.

[eek]

3. CNN Int'l TV said they are hearing that from AP

the newsreader indicated it was This Just In stuff.
Japanese Foreign Ministery says "their Gov suspects" 2nd test has occurred this morning (Asian time zone).

Korean office is denying...

[IndianaGreen]

5. Here is the link to MSNBC

but they are quoting Reuters:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15213850/

Report: N. Korea may have done 2nd nuke test

Japan government sources said to confirm second tremor early Wednesday

TOKYO - North Korea appears to have conducted another nuclear test, Japanese national broadcaster NHK said on Wednesday.

Japanese government sources had information that there was a tremor in North Korea this morning and they were checking on the possibility of a nuclear test, NHK said.

<snip>

Meanwhile, a South Korean official said seismic monitors did not detect any tremors that could indicate a possible second nuclear test.

[Cooley Hurd]

4. Four M-80's instead of two?

;)

[jayfish]

6. I Just Watched "Trinity And Beyond"...

a couple of weeks ago and it got me thinking about something. Could it be that the first detonations was simply a TNT control. NK might have needed it to get accurate yield measurements of the real thing? We did it prior to the Trinity event. Whey wouldn't they?

Jay

[IndianaGreen]

8. That's a great and disturbing documentary, especially the 3-D stuff

I think the North Koreans failed to achieve a symmetrical implosion on their first test. Let's see how the second test, if confirmed, turns out. They have limited quantities of plutonium, nothing approaching the several metric tons of the stuff that we have stockpiled.

Your guess is as good as mine. I don't think there is a need for them to have done a conventional test since there are charts available that correlate Richter scale to energy released.

[jayfish]

16. We Were Such Children...

with our new uber weapons. That movie is also a good way to introduce or re-introduce people to the power of nuclear weapons. Having grown up during the Reagan years, where we had the threat of nuclear war rammed down our throats on a daily basis, it always surprises me when people just don't get how insanely powerful nukes are. The verb "nuke" is cliche for Deity's sake. Hell even if they would have achieved the 4 kt yield they were rumored to be after, it would be a pittance compared to the multi-megaton monsters we have today. And we put twelve of them on a single missile.
Maybe NK had some variables that they couldn't fit into the equations. Unique geography or something of that nature.

Jay

[BrotherBuzz]

18. They would not have to do that test underground.

Another consideration is their limited quantity of plutonium, as Indiana Green pointed out. The crazy North Koreans may be developing their own version of the low yield 'suitcase' bomb like our W 54 and use their nuclear stockpile judiciously. One could speculate that North Korea would never directly attack US and her Allies with a nuke, but would have no ethical problems selling one to any of the bad boys in the world. I could believe the cash strapped Korea could develop them for export, just like their missiles. The W 54 had a variable yield ("dial-a-yield") equivalent to between 10 tons and 1 kiloton of TNT - NK could be testing both extremes of their version's capability.

"Suitcase Bomb"
The Mk-54 Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM)


Above: The carrying case for the Mk-54 SADM, which had a yield from .01 to 1.0 kiloton. The entire unit weighed less than 163 pounds. This weapon was in Army inventory from 1964 into (apparently) the 1980's.

[MGD]

20. There was a seismic event of about 2.3 magnitude in NK sometime in August

It went largely unreported. That sounds closer to a TNT blast or, possibly, a failed nuclear test than what we've seen today and yesterday IMO.

[xchrom]

7. the republick party wants you to know

things are going just swell -- this nuclear bombs going off is just evidence of that.

now, why aren't you out shopping?

[David Zephyr]

9. Howard Dean said we weren't safer when Saddam was "captured".

And he was right.

George Bush is not only an asshole, but he's an incompetent asshole, too.

[IndianaGreen]

10. Bill Clinton kept North Korea contained for 8 years

Bush has pushed the world to a nuclear arms race based solely on fear. Fear of his insane foreign policy!

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. CNN - North Korea has fired another test

No link yet. Just heard it on CNN.

Saying no seismic activity though.

[LSparkle]

12. They said that immediately after the first one, too

Took a few hours to determine that there was some activity.

[greeneyedboy]

13. can we let the grownups handle foreign policy soon, please?

[Megahurtz]

14. I heard them say on CNN

that there was a 6-pointer in Japan.

[Infinite Hope]

15. Or...

did we drop one to make them appear as more of a threat. It's interesting I read South Korea can't confirm a second test or quake nor has anyone else but Japan.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

17. Now they are saying it was an earthquake. n/t

[IndianaGreen]

19. I don't see how

The 6 on the Richter scale was off the East Coast of Japan. Needless to say, Korea is in the opposite direction.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

21. See link below

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061011/D8KM5IMG0.html