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U.S. scientists say they have created an automated program designed to "debug" the nation's nuclear test computer simulations. Purdue University researchers, working with scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said their program, called AutomaDeD (pronounced like automated), finds errors in computer code for complex "parallel" programs. Because international treaties forbid the detonation of nuclear test weapons, certification is done using complex simulations. The researchers said such simulations, which may contain as many as 100,000 lines of computer code, must accurately show reactions taking place on the scale of milliseconds, or thousandths of a second. "The simulations take several weeks...

/being my translation N. Korea Could Have their Third Nuclear Test in May or June 2010-04-20 13:33 It is said to be likely that N. Korea could conduct their third nuclear test in May or June. As prospects dim for 6-party talks due to the sinking of Cheonan, this would further raise tension in Korean Peninsula. Kim Seung-jae reporting from Beijing [Report] According to credible diplomatic sources on N. Korea, it has been secretly preparing for their third nuclear test since last February. It is their understanding that it would conduct the third nuclear test next month or in June....

Two U.S.-based scientists said Sunday they've located the site of North Korea's second nuclear test last year more precisely than ever before, pinpointing it just 2 kilometers off the place where the first test was conducted in 2006. Lianxing Wen, a geophysics professor at the State University of New York in Stony Brook, and his graduate student, Hui Long, located the epicenter of the second nuclear test on May 5 last year with a margin of error of only 140 meters, compared with 3.8 kilometers achieved by the U.S. Geological Survey. "We locate the 2009 test at 723 meters north...

North Korea is likely to conduct a nuclear test next year in an attempt to boost itself as an atomic power and shore up the regime's legitimacy at home as Pyongyang prepares for a dynastic power transfer, South Korea's state-run think tank warns. North Korea is also expected to launch more long-range ballistic missiles and provoke military clashes along the heavily fortified border with South Korea, the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said in its 2010 outlook. North Korea conducted its second nuclear test last May following its first in 2006, which led to tougher trade and financial sanctions by...

Kim Jong Il Reportedly Calls for Third Nuclear Test Saturday , September 12, 2009 North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, during his most recent meeting with party and military leaders, reportedly gave instructions that the reclusive regime prepare for a third nuclear test, this time using enriched uranium, according to reports from Free Radio of North Korea, based in South Korea. Kim "emphasized the importance of improvement of nuclear technologies with the aim of attracting the U.S. to direct bilateral talks," according to the radio station's source. The meeting during which this order was reportedly given took place on Aug....

US nuclear gurus see signs of more Indian nuclear tests Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN 28 August 2009, 05:24am IST WASHINGTON: US nuclear pundits feel the Indian establishment -- political, scientific, or both in concert – may be lining up to conduct more nuclear tests to validate and improve the country’s arsenal before the Obama administration shuts the door on nuclear explosions. ''You bet he wants to test again,'' said Henry Sokolski, Executive Director of the Washington DC-based Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, when asked about the remarks from a key Indian nuclear scientist suggesting India’s thermonuclear test was not up to mark....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has determined that the nuclear test conducted by North Korea last month yielded an explosion of a few kilotons, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence said on Monday. "The U.S. intelligence community assesses that North Korea probably conducted an underground nuclear explosion in the vicinity of Punggye on May 25, 2009," the office said in a statement. "The explosion yield was approximately a few kilotons." North Korea's first nuclear test, in 2006, was about one kiloton. Shortly after this year's blast, Russia said it estimated the explosion at about 20 kilotons,...

Spies beef up surveillance of 11 sites for nuke test June 15, 2009 South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials have ratcheted up their monitoring of 11 underground facilities in North Korea after reports of a third possible North Korean nuclear test, sources told the JoongAng Ilbo. An intelligence source said the test would be in response to the recent United Nations Security Council’s resolution that condemns the North’s second nuclear test on May 25 and imposes tough sanctions on Pyongyang. According to the source, South Korea and the United States are using KH-12 spy satellites to monitor vehicle movements. They’re...

SKorea braces for 3rd nuclear test by North Korea By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 12, 3:52 am ET SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea was bracing for a possible third nuclear test by the North, which a U.S. official said was likely despite looming U.N. sanctions on the communist state for its previous test in May. Given the North's track record of provocative behavior and defiance of the United Nations, "common sense" would dictate that it is preparing for another nuclear test, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told reporters Friday. He said the test was...

Was N. Korea`s 2nd Nuke Test Faked? JUNE 04, 2009 08:20 Suspicion is rising over whether North Korea really conducted a nuclear test last week since no krypton-85, a radioactive material produced after an atomic detonation, has been detected. Radioactive materials not found in nature such as krypton-85 and xenon-135 are released after a nuclear test. Krypton-85 remains in the air for several decades and thus presents clear evidence of a nuclear test. In October 2006, a U.S. WC-135 scout plane detected radioactive materials over the East Sea a couple of days after the North conducted its first nuclear test....

A Nuclear Asia From End To End Gordon G. Chang, 05.29.09, 12:01 AM ET On Tuesday, Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's most widely read newspaper, urged Seoul to build its own long-range missiles and atomic bombs. "North Korea claims its rationale for having nuclear weapons is to defend itself," the broadsheet editorialized. "South Korea too now requires a deterrent." To build that deterrent, the South will first have to abrogate two global agreements, the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. For years, these pacts, which prevented the dissemination of dangerous technologies, looked solid. Now,...

(LEAD) (Yonhap Interview) N. Korean nuclear test to trigger unprecedented response: Cohen By Sam Kim SINGAPORE, May 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korea made a "big miscalculation" by going ahead with its second nuclear test and should expect an unprecedented response from the international community, a former U.S. defense minister said Friday. North Korea set off an underground nuclear explosion in its northeastern region on Monday despite a slew of international warnings

China's Anger at North Korea Test Signals Shift By JAY SOLOMON in Washington and IAN JOHNSON and GORDON FAIRCLOUGH in Beijing North Korea's nuclear test this week has deeply angered China, a mood shift signaled in statements showing that influential Chinese thinkers are coming to see Kim Jong Il's regime as a liability. The change in attitude doesn't indicate China will support punishment that could threaten the stability of its neighbor. China appears ready to support modest sanctions at the United Nations Security Council, along the lines of the restrictions on North Korean companies it has supported in the past....

(LEAD) Chinese ships shunning waters near Korea amid tensions SEOUL, May 29 (Yonhap) -- Chinese fishing vessels are leaving the Yellow Sea, where tensions between the two Koreas have escalated after Pyongyang's threats of military clash, a defense source here said Friday. "Chinese fishing ships operating near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) began withdrawing yesterday," the source said, adding the military authorities are trying to find out whether North Korea asked them to do so. More than 280 Chinese vessels were fishing near the NLL for crab earlier this week but the number has dropped to about 140, according to...

US should consider military options against N Korea: Perry Thu May 28, 1:28 pm ET WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States should consider a range of coercive measures against North Korea, including possible military action, for diplomacy to have a chance of success, former US defense secretary William Perry said Thursday. Perry emphasized that he was not recommending military action against North Korea now but said the United States should at least consider escalating to military action if other lesser coercive measures prove ineffective. "We could have stopped this last nuclear test if we had chosen to do so. We...

N. Korean nuclear blast probably less powerful than hoped for: Yale scholar By Sam Kim SEOUL, May 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea apparently failed to achieve desired explosiveness in its second nuclear test, a Yale University professor says, citing seismic readings that have been generated by it. North Korea set off an underground nuclear explosion on Monday, creating a shock that registered 4.52 in magnitude on the Richter scale, according to a Vienna-based anti-nuclear weapons organization. North Korea produced a magnitude of 4.1 in its first test in October 2006, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty says. Jefferey Park, director of the...

(2nd LD) S. Korea joins PSI after N. Korea's nuke test By Lee Chi-dong SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Tuesday declared full participation in the U.S.-led campaign aimed at curbing the spread of the weapons of mass destruction and related materials, a day after North Korea conducted its second nuclear test. South Korea made the decision to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) following the North's April 5 rocket launch, but it had delayed a formal announcement in consideration of its efforts to resume dialogue with the communist neighbor. Government officials said there was no reason to...

President Barack Obama hit the golf course after marking his first Memorial Day as commander in chief. The president's motorcade took him to Fort Belvoir in Virginia. That's where he went for a game of golf more than a week ago. Obama grabbed his clubs after he participated in Memorial Day observances at Arlington National Cemetery

(News Focus) N. Korea moving fast in timetable of provocative steps By Lee Chi-dong SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's second nuclear test came as no surprise to South Korean officials on Monday, but they said the unpredictable communist nation pulled out its trump card earlier than expected. "North Korea seems to want a speedy game," a senior South Korean government official handling the nuclear issue said. "It seems to be seeking to create a condition favorable to itself as early as possible, rather than dragging its feet." The North, infuriated by the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of its...

Russia confirms North Korea's nuclear test - Summary Posted on : 2009-05-25 | Author : DPA News Category : Europe Moscow - Russia's Defence Ministry on Monday confirmed that North Korea had conducted a subterranean nuclear test. The nuclear explosion had a strength of between 10 and 20 kilotons, Defence Ministry spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky said, according to the Interfax news agency. The detonation was registered in an area some 80 kilometres north- west of the city of Kilchu. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was in Lebanon on Monday expressed concern over the developments.