[Black Agnes]

To hide evidence of radioactive payload?

[Black Agnes]

Ping.

[CodeToad]

If had been radioactive we would have measured that long before it got onto the rocket.

[GraceG]

[ To hide evidence of radioactive payload? ]

I don’t believe in coincidences:

Nationwide Air Force & Army COMEX communication GRID down exercise Friday 02/12/2016

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3394666/posts

[DugwayDuke]

The speculation is they blew up the first stage, not the payload.

[usconservative]

To hide evidence of radioactive payload?

More likely to hide evidence of which country they're obtaining their rocket technology from.

[Southack]

"To hide evidence of radioactive payload?"

That wouldn't hide anything. The blown up pieces would still be radioactive in such a wild-eyed scenario.

No, NK blew up the 1st stage so that:
#1: SK couldn't brag about recovering NK's 1st stage again, and
#2: to hide the foreign-made components used in their 1st stage