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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| Report: North Korea Tests Nuclear Weapon | |
| 2006-10-08 | |
North Korea performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test Monday, Yonhap news agency reported, citing government officials. South Korean officials couldn't immediately confirm the report. 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 reported test. The U.S. Geological Survey said it had detected no seismic activity in North Korea, although it's not clear if a blast would be strong enough for its sensors. | |
| Posted by:Scooter McGruder |
| #16 Mike: Japan has a solid-fuel satellite launcher (Mu-5) that's almost a dead ringer for the Peacekeeper ICBM. Stick a nuke in the payload bay and you've got your own instant strategic deterrent--and it wouldn't take long for Japan to whip up a few nukes in the machine shop. Japan doesn't need nukes for the same reason Germany did not need nukes - they fall under the American nuclear umbrella. Which is another way of saying that a nuclear attack on Japan will draw an American nuclear response. And a Japan that has nukes will no longer be part of the American nuclear umbrella. I seriously doubt Japan is going to undertake the multi-billion dollar expense of creating a second rate (compared to the US arsenal) nuclear force when the cost will be the US Japan alliance. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2006-10-08 23:58 |
| #15 I was trying to figure out why Kim would do this (assuming the reports are true). It's not for internal consumptions, as he doesn't give a damn about his people. It's not to pressure the US as this will give him LESS leverage and guarantee the US goes to the UN. It makes China look powerless and foolish - so it's certainly not going to win Kim friends in Beijing. But, suppose Kim wanted to sell one or more nukes. The buyer would surely want proof that they worked before forking over say 100 million bucks (or more). As for buyers - Iran might decide it wants a nuke sooner rather than later. Also, Syria, Venzuela, even the Saudis. Then there's (non-state) terrorists - such as Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Sure hope we're watching shipping in / out of North Korea (though a nuke could also go by rail through China). All in all not a good situation. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2006-10-08 23:50 |
| #14 Japan has a solid-fuel satellite launcher (Mu-5) that's almost a dead ringer for the Peacekeeper ICBM. Stick a nuke in the payload bay and you've got your own instant strategic deterrent--and it wouldn't take long for Japan to whip up a few nukes in the machine shop. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-10-08 23:44 |
| #13 I just found this too Angie. I do hope I'm just mis-reading all of this.... link |
| Posted by: Thoth 2006-10-08 23:42 |
| #12 USGS picked up activity... Umm, where does it say that? There's been no activity on the peninsula -- at least as far south as Pusan -- for a week. Unless you saw something and they took it down? |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2006-10-08 23:39 |
| #11 South Korea says they detected 3.58 sesmic event. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-10-08 23:38 |
| #10 I wonder if Kimmie will send B&H a thank you note. |
| Posted by: DanNY 2006-10-08 23:37 |
| #9 USGS picked up activity... It's looking like they did it. This ain't a fake. |
| Posted by: Thoth 2006-10-08 23:35 |
| #8 Reuters Article |
| Posted by: DanNY 2006-10-08 23:24 |
| #7 Now that would make him the laughinstock of the planet. Oh, wait, he already is... :-) |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-08 23:23 |
| #6 The North Koreans have achieved a major advance in nuclear weapons technology, a bomb that creates no explosion when it goes off. |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-10-08 23:23 |
| #5 Zen, Amen to that in so many ways... |
| Posted by: DanNY 2006-10-08 23:22 |
| #4 Fox News said that the USGS reported no "seismic activity" on the North Korean peninsula in the last 48 hours. |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-10-08 23:21 |
| #3 If it was a nuclear test, we already know. The envelope shape is unmistakable. The news has yet to be released, that is all. An underground test's shockwave reflects through the entire earth several times. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-08 23:20 |
| #2 Been posting the tiny bits available for 20 minutes, but no Mods around. Scooter must have special status. Here |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-08 23:18 |
| #1 It's breaking all over the place. Shouldn't this be on page one? |
| Posted by: Thoth 2006-10-08 23:16 |
