Posted on 10/07/2006 8:34:26 PM PDT by blam
N Korea's bomb 'would kill 200,000'
By Sergey Soukhorukov in Pyongyang
(Filed: 08/10/2006)
The nuclear weapon that North Korea intends to detonate in an underground test is big enough to kill up to 200,000 people were it ever to be used against a city such as Seoul or Tokyo, Russian military experts have revealed.
They say that the weapon, with the same 20-kiloton yield as the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, is about 10ft long and weighs four tons. It is too big to fit on to any missile Kim Jong Il's regime currently possesses but if it were detonated above ground it could destroy everything within five square miles.
Kim Jong Il's regime renewed its call for the US to withdraw its forces from South Korea
Speculation has mounted that North Korea may conduct its first nuclear test as early as today after it confirmed last week that it intended to press ahead.
But Russian military officials in Pyongyang say they have received information that North Korea intends to give the US up to three months to lift financial sanctions imposed last year and to begin negotiations before carrying out its threat. "If Americans don't start bilateral dialogue with Pyongyang and lift sanctions, then Kim Jong-il is expected to give the order to carry on with the test, most likely in the second half of December or early January," one official said.
North Korea's determination to carry out an underground nuclear test was first revealed last month in The Sunday Telegraph after the communist country's secretive leader spelt out his intentions at a meeting with Russian and Chinese diplomats. On Friday the United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed to press Pyongyang to drop its plans, which it describes as "a clear threat to international peace and security".
The Russians dismissed reports that the tests would take place this weekend. "Normally, if Pyongyang makes an important and provocative announcement, it tries to heat up the tension to the maximum point, and then suddenly falls silent for a long time," one analyst said. "It needs to carefully monitor the situation, watch the reaction of the rest of the world and weigh all the pros and cons again. I would say that carrying out a nuclear test any time soon is not to North Korea's advantage."
The Russian analysis appeared to be supported yesterday by a renewed call from North Korea for the US to withdraw its forces from South Korea. "The ongoing 'reorganisation' of the US forces in South Korea is part of the arms build-up and a prelude to a war of aggression against the DPRK," the North Korean news agency KCNA reported, quoting from a statement by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
The Russians believe the test, if it happens, is likely to be carried out in a horizontal tunnel more than a mile below ground at Kilju, in North Hamgyon province, in the north-east of the country where US military satellites have detected recent activity.
Chinese officials in Pynogyang agreed that a test was imminent and said it might come earlier than the Russian prediction, possibly later this month or in November.
Although the prospect of a North Korean nuclear weapon is a matter of great concern among its neighbours, the country's scientists still have a long way to go to match the sophistication of modern devices.
The announcement of North Korea's plans has raised tensions in the region and South Korean troops fired warning shots yesterday after North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the border.
When did Kim start making demands? Oh...that's right, he has a nuke now.
That right Blammmm
Pinging North Korea news list
I'm seriously unimpressed.
ROFL YUP LOL!
We should witrhdraw them from South Korea and redeploy them to North Korea.
Question..... what countries have all conducted at least one nuclear test? I believe that the article says that this would be a first for North Korea. India, Pakistan, USSR, France, China, USA.... is there anyone else? Perhaps Britain? I got into a discussion about this today and wondered who are all members of the club.
Or 200,000 of his own people if he screws it up.
So let these freaks of nature with the comical uniforms use their WMD.
They will find out what we can do with thousands of ours.
Great Britain
France
China
Soviet Union/Russia
India
Pakistan
Questionable: Israel and/or South Africa
The North Korean nuke weighs 8,000 pounds. Pretty primitive compared to the B61 nuclear bomb, which has a yield up to 340 kT and weighs only 700 pounds.
I don’t care if he has 10,000 nukes, he still has to have a method of delivery. His latest exploits in the delivery area leave much to be desired. He could sell them to foreign powers, however, the foreign powers still need to have a delivery system and even Iran doesn’t have that yet. I say … ignore this pissant!
Brits and maybe South Africa.
South Africa dismantled theirs before the end of apartheid.
There has been some speculation that the explosive in the southern Indian Ocean in 1979 was a joint South African-Israeli test.
The Vela Incident took place well before that.
That is the UNs one success story in its entire miserable existence.
L
The Brasilians abandoned their program from some unexplained reason. There were reports Lula da Silva had revived it.
Couple thoughts on this.
1) 200K ???? Big Whoop, that aint much to brag about
2) The Democrats and their demographic actually present a major problem for murdering aholes with nuclear ambitions. Take out a major US city and you piss of the conservatives while reducing the number of voters with the surrendor genes. It is counter productive for terrorists. Massed populations=Democrats.
The best deterance may be to make sure they understand thid dynamic.
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