Report: North Korea conducts nuke test

Here's the official statement from the DPRK. Apologies if it has been already printed here:

North Korea said Monday it had conducted its first nuclear weapons test. The text of the announcement by the country's official Korean Central News Agency follows. The formal name for North Korea is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK and KPA refers to the Korean People's Army:

———

"The field of scientific research in the DPRK successfully conducted an underground nuclear test under secure conditions on October 9, 2006, at a stirring time when all the people of the country are making a great leap forward in the building of a great, prosperous, powerful socialist nation.

"It has been confirmed that there was no such danger as radioactive emission in the course of the nuclear test as it was carried out under scientific consideration and careful calculation.

"The nuclear test was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology 100 percent. It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the KPA and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability.

"It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the area around it."

www.foxnews.com...

if we of course do attack im assuming we will need to not only take out the facilities but also the leadership otherwise im sure they will try again

makes you wonder what saddam would of done eventaully if we hadnt got rid of him

I'm sitting here listening to Art Bell and hearing this. Just for the heck of it, I checked this.

earthquake.usgs.gov...

If you notice (and are geographically smart enough to find North Korea on the map), you'd see that the "quake" registered as a 4.2 at a depth of 0 feet (geologically speaking at or NEAR the surface). Click on the square for more information.

Anyway, I bet Kim Jong really has a bulge in his pants about now (partially with help from Cialis or Viagra I'm sure).

Now if the pudgy dude could get his missiles to fly straight!

Edit: Here is probably a better link:

earthquake.usgs.gov...

[edit on 9-10-2006 by CreeWolf]

[edit on 9-10-2006 by CreeWolf]

www.cnn.com...

something minor, but in the top left corner theres a picture of the site and the explosion.. I think
Looks very similar to the french tests.. as in the immediate disturbance above ground.
First one ive seen apologies if its been posted.

[edit on 9-10-2006 by Agit8dChop]

perhaps he should attach a warhead to the bulge in his pants and royally # the world

No doubt, tomorrow holds for us some rhetoric from the short pudgy Korean dude (Kim Jong) and, I probably would guarantee this, applause from the Iranian leadership!

The sad thing is, N Korea would have suspended their nuke program long ago if Bush had just agreed to bilateral talks with them, which he flatly refused.

they could even have their own summit

'how to piss the world off and get away with it'

i bet saddams stewing in his cell when he hears this thinking to himself how comes those two get away with it and im in here

Originally posted by Astygia
The sad thing is, N Korea would have suspended their nuke program long ago if Bush had just agreed to bilateral talks with them, which he flatly refused.

HOW TRUE..HOW TRUE!!!!

Looks like you've got my way above top secret vote for this month..

Originally posted by Astygia
The sad thing is, N Korea would have suspended their nuke program long ago if Bush had just agreed to bilateral talks with them, which he flatly refused.

yeah... but if someone didnt want to talk to you, would you go off and build a nuke?

Originally posted by Astygia
The sad thing is, N Korea would have suspended their nuke program long ago if Bush had just agreed to bilateral talks with them, which he flatly refused.

The truly sad thing is that someone would really believe that. You don't deal with mad dictators by opening talks with them. Those talks would have only served to get more aid from the US, which, once again, Kim Jong would have just diverted away from his starving masses into his nuclear program!

I really should have paid more attention to that old saying when I responded to a previous thread thusly:


"...Consequences for the rest of the world are minimal, at worst.

If NK really does have nuke weapons but simply has not tested them, a live test would provide the world an opportunity to guage the capability of those weapons. That capability would help determine just how big a threat "Lil Kim" poses, and what should be done to eliminate him as a threat.

The "Dear Leader" may find having a nuke in his pocket to be a serious pain in the kester.

If the test fails, or if there really are no nukes to test, NK will be forced to slither back into its dark corner of the world stage to be further ignored and/or ridiculed."


NK has, at long last, "put up" the nuclear goods. The relative size of the detonation is, to my mind, less important than the fact itself. Even if we consider the low yield resulting from the test a sign of NK's lack of sophistication; we must remeber that:

Failure is often The Best Teacher!

No blockade by the US, or any other nation, can prevent NK from learning from its experience. Especially since, by all accounts, NK already has in its possession, materiel sufficient to continue perfecting its methods/technology.

Kim Jong-Il has indeed proven himself and his regime to be a credible threat on the world stage; NK will never again be ignored.

In an uncomfortable betrayal of the confident defiance I portrayed in that earlier post, I now find myself dining on a bit of very cold crow. I must admit that the prospects I see developing do not bode well.

A US/international trade blockade of NK would be ineffective and dangerously provocative. NK has little to loose and if it perceives an immediate threat to its existence, could inflict serious injury to its neighbors before suffering total destruction.

China has already stated its opposition to a nuclear-armed NK. Understandable, since, even though China has historically coddled NK, China in no way desires a client-state who possesses the means to threaten the homeland. Yet, China cannot, unilaterally, act against NK with military force. Such action would be met with extreme resistance by both Japan and SK: essentially client-states of the US, with which China does not seek a confrontation.

SK cannot attack NK without risking self-destruction. Japan cannot attack NK since it currently lacks the means to do so, effectively, and if it had the means, would be risking confrontation with China; a potentially ugly scenario reminicient of WWII.

Could the US lay the conundrum of a nuclear NK in the lap of China as a sort of "He's your problem-child, You discipline him. Or we will!"?

Would China demand Quid Pro Quo of the US vis-a-vis Israel's role in the mideast?

Could North Korea "blackmail" the world's powers with its new-found status by demanding immediate re-unifiction with the South, on NK's terms; thus gaining the economic strength of its Southern sibling? Re-unification has long been a dream of SK; would they accept the deal under such duress?

Would the world allow it? Could they stop it, without great blood-shed?

Ok, so what is more likely the response?
What do you believe the administrations immediately involved are going to do?

Wasn't looking for brownie points, but thanks Daed.

Xphiles: So true, so true.

Originally posted by CreeWolf
The truly sad thing is that someone would really believe that. You don't deal with mad dictators by opening talks with them. Those talks would have only served to get more aid from the US, which, once again, Kim Jong would have just diverted away from his starving masses into his nuclear program!

Personally, I think that's pretty likely, Cree. But Bush should have tried anyway. I wouldn't wager on this but it's just what I'm thinking right now: no immediate war will come of this. Perhaps later on someone's going to zig when they should have zagged, and the little red button gets pressed.

But if we do go to war, it's important that the president is able to truthfully say that every last option was exhausted; how's it going to look when he says "Well, I have a duty to protect the American people, so we're going to war with North Korea" and some reporter asks "Sir, didn't they say they'd rethink their nuclear ambitions if you just agreed to talk with them? Surely talking with them wouldn't have lost you anything?"

I'm not removing responsibility from NK, just pointing out an obvious bit of future ammunition for if and when a war emerges.

EDIT: Ironically enough, the EMS testing system just scrolled across my TV screen. Hahaha.

[edit on 9-10-2006 by Astygia]

Originally posted by XPhiles

Originally posted by Astygia
The sad thing is, N Korea would have suspended their nuke program long ago if Bush had just agreed to bilateral talks with them, which he flatly refused.

yeah... but if someone didnt want to talk to you, would you go off and build a nuke?

Much to the contrary..
Read up a little..
NK was very keen on bilateral talks with the US.
Bush shrugged them off.

Originally posted by CreeWolf

Originally posted by Astygia
The sad thing is, N Korea would have suspended their nuke program long ago if Bush had just agreed to bilateral talks with them, which he flatly refused.

The truly sad thing is that someone would really believe that. You don't deal with mad dictators by opening talks with them. Those talks would have only served to get more aid from the US, which, once again, Kim Jong would have just diverted away from his starving masses into his nuclear program!

Are you Bush by any chance?!!

Wake up..
Eerybody (Read: China, SK, Russia and Japan) believes that..
All memebers of 6 party talks urged the US to resume bi lateral talks..which incidently were on before Bush got to power..
This govt just keeps scarring America over and over. Sad to see a country tear itself apart

China, the closest reclusive North Korea has to an ally, described the nuclear test as "brazen" and called on its neighbour to stop any action that would worsen the situation.

North Korea announced its intention to test a nuclear device last week, saying its hand was forced by what it called U.S. threats of nuclear war and economic sanctions. But it said it would not be the first to use a nuclear weapon.

"North Korea is using this claim as a bargaining chip to gain leverage so that Washington will take them seriously," said Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences and a former Indonesian presidential adviser.

Source.

I love all this mad dictator talk. I don't blame N.Korea for seeking nuclear weapons, after being named as part of the axis of evil, and surveying what has happened to Afghanistan and Iraq. Seems to me, they want to be taken seriously, want to ensure their country does not meet the same fate, and are hoping that the development of a nuclear weapon will serve as a deterrent.

Of course, the media spin machine has already kicked in to high gear, and people are already talking about how they should be wiped off the face of the map. I guess, I've seen it so many times now, I really shouldn't be surprised.

Originally posted by Daedalus3


Bush shrugged them off.

That is because NK was a Rogue State. Now, by the Bush administration an "Axis of Evil" (with little nukes).

Bush policy is to never negotiate with the Axis of Evil.

Would you negotiate with the devil, if he wanted in your house.


[edit on 9-10-2006 by XPhiles]

aahhh.. rogue.......shmogue........
I feel Pakistan is a rogue state..
Its all a matter of opinion really..

Just an interesting thought to keep in mind:

For the next few days, we should watch for any new laws or just shady news that slip by "under the radar" while the NKorea hype has max exposure. It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, gets swept under the White House rug while everyone's scrutiny is in North Korea.