Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Gertz: U.S. doubts Korean test was nuclear
The Drudge Report ^ | October 9, 2006 | Drudge

Posted on 10/09/2006 7:52:09 PM PDT by blogblogginaway

GERTZ: U.S. doubts Korean test was nuclear; Readings fall short of atomic explosion... MORE...

U.S. intelligence agencies say, based on preliminary indications, that North Korea did not produce its first nuclear blast yesterday, WASHINGTON TIMES star reporter Bill Gertz is set to report in Tuesday editions.

U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that seismic readings show that the conventional high explosives used to create a chain reaction in a plutonium-based device went off, but that the blast's readings were shy of a typical nuclear detonation.

'There was a seismic event that registered about 4 on the Richter scale, but it still isn't clear if it was a nuclear test. You can get that kind of seismic reading from high explosives.'

The underground explosion, which Pyongyang dubbed a historic nuclear test, is thought to have been the equivalent of several hundred tons of TNT, far short of the several thousand tons of TNT, or kilotons, that are signs of a nuclear blast, the official said. Developing...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: nk; nkorea; northkorea; nucleartest; nuketest; unclearbomb
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120121-139 last
To: blogblogginaway

Well, it doesn't really matter one way or the other if North Korea was testing nuclear stuff or just skimming stones. It is none of our business, other than to watch and make sure they don't point any hysterical stuff at the United States. China, Japan and Russia are by far closer, and these folks are the only ones the nut job of North Korea will pay any attention to. So, the United States should just put up the wall between us and Mexico, for their lovely corruption is a much bigger threat to the United States than some skimpy country, thousands of miles away, that can't tie their shoes correctly...


121 posted on 10/10/2006 10:14:59 AM PDT by Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mainepatsfan

Headline: N. KOREAN NUKE TEST A SHAMEFUL FIASCO

Former US Secretary of State Madeline Half-bright expressed her fervent sympathy for North Korea after a failed nuclear test proved to be a great embarrassment before the world. Said a tearfully supportive Albright:

"My poor dear Kim Jong-Il, he's struggled for a long with this problem, I thought I'd worked with him enough on his premature ejaculation......"


122 posted on 10/10/2006 10:37:02 AM PDT by Enchante (There are 3 kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and the Drive-By Media)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 89 | View Replies]

To: blogblogginaway
Good morning.

I wonder if they another of whatever it was that destroyed that train station a while back?

Michael Frazier
123 posted on 10/10/2006 11:14:19 AM PDT by brazzaville (no surrender no retreat, well, maybe retreat's ok)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TASMANIANRED
Gulag with their name on it awaits.

The whole damn country is a gulag.

124 posted on 10/10/2006 11:23:17 AM PDT by steve-b (It's hard to be religious when certain people don't get struck by lightning.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: nwctwx
Good morning.
"worst option could be that they have a small yield weapon that could fit on a missile in their inventory."

I don't understand the belief that they need to make a weapon that can be delivered by missile or plane.

Several times I've sat in the cafeteria at Ft. Miley and watched container ships make their way into San Francisco Bay. Even a device as destructive as the Nagasaki bomb would cause catastrophic damage if it were detonated on board a ship that turned hard to starboard just inside the Golden Gate.

Our harbors have been worrisome since the WOT began, and now we know that it's possible the Jihadists might be able to get a weapon more easily.

Michael Frazier
125 posted on 10/10/2006 11:31:06 AM PDT by brazzaville (no surrender no retreat, well, maybe retreat's ok)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: kitd-fohs
Obviously someone in NK read this before we did
126 posted on 10/10/2006 11:46:13 AM PDT by jerryem (This is my belief,,,you don't like it? OK I have others.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 97 | View Replies]

To: NinoFan
I am certainly not an expert, but there are only three posiblities. One test was successful and Russian estimate of yeild is correct. Two test was faked with hi tech explosives. Three easily the most likely, test did not go as planed, fission explosion happened but inproper design/construction of device caused device to lose it's critical shape too soon, reaction stopped to soon, yield less then expected.

I am tempted put in forth possiblity, device designed to be low yield, but that seems to unlikely to be a real possibility.

Of the three (or four) possibilities all but one is bad news. Guess we've got about 5 years to prepare. In 5 years NK will arm all our enemies with nukes. We can survive losing a city or two or three but not much more then that. Lose 10 Cities and we are back to being an 1880's society, 300,000,000 an 1880's society can not support. Which means 3 months after a 10 city Nuke attack we go back to the middle (dark) ages.

127 posted on 10/10/2006 11:58:11 AM PDT by jpsb
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 101 | View Replies]

To: NinoFan
I think you got the message about face another time, but I will reply anyway, the explosive material that I was talking about is a commercial explosive, not used as much as it should be, owing to its very high costs, (permission to use and handling being the main drawbacks) but it is definitely not in the experimental stage as you suggest. In the hands of terrorists it would defiantly change our world, one that new how, a matchbox size charge could put an end to a transport system (tunnels, railway stations,Bridges, etc)
128 posted on 10/10/2006 12:05:08 PM PDT by jerryem (This is my belief,,,you don't like it? OK I have others.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]

To: Wil H

If its Nu then it is ,if it isn't its not !


129 posted on 10/10/2006 12:40:57 PM PDT by Brit1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: steve-b

Whole country in a gulag.....

True, but even in hell there are deeper levels.


130 posted on 10/10/2006 1:00:32 PM PDT by TASMANIANRED (The Internet is the samizdat of liberty..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 124 | View Replies]

To: TASMANIANRED
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
131 posted on 10/10/2006 3:18:52 PM PDT by petertare (!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 130 | View Replies]

To: blogblogginaway

Can we trust anything coming out of the CIA (assuming they're the source) after how badly they've been on other intelligence?


132 posted on 10/10/2006 6:31:52 PM PDT by newzjunkey (Support Arnold-McClintock or embrace high taxes, gay weddings with Angelides.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blogblogginaway

Probably just the rev. moon trying to stick it to kim.


133 posted on 10/10/2006 8:22:08 PM PDT by gotribe (It's not a religion.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blogblogginaway

I seem to remember a few weeks back that North Korea was moving large amounts of conventional explosives for some unknown reason. Sounds like we found the reason.


134 posted on 10/10/2006 8:36:29 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity ("A litany of complaints is not a plan." - GW Bush, referring to DNC's lack of a platform on ANYTHING)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: petertare

Wonder how much cash he brought with him.


135 posted on 10/10/2006 8:40:54 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity ("A litany of complaints is not a plan." - GW Bush, referring to DNC's lack of a platform on ANYTHING)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 131 | View Replies]

To: Strategerist

Me too. There's a hell of a lot of energy in a 4+.


136 posted on 10/11/2006 6:10:15 AM PDT by onedoug
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Strategerist

You could if Chiaman packed a hole with 200 tons of TNT and claimed it were nuclear (a dumb idea, yes) to get the US to consider face-to-face talks with NK.

No madman rants, threats, or flexile calisthentics have produced even a slight budge in US policy toward NK and Chiaman's obviously beginning to feel the pressure. With the string of failures Kim's regime has recently suffered and the rhetoric from Pyongyang, it's apparent his regime is running out of sane options.

I will wait for the radiation detection test conclusions before totally dismissing the probability of a nuclear test event by NK, but so far, all sniffing equipment indicates that the event may never have gone critical and since trigger devices usually aren't of the hundreds of ton ranges, I suspect Kim may have "set us up the bomb" of conventional TNT.


137 posted on 10/11/2006 6:42:36 AM PDT by azhenfud (an enigma between two parentheses)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: thoughtomator

I thought that if it were"nuclear",this could be dtermined by taking air-samples downwind?


138 posted on 10/11/2006 7:41:33 AM PDT by bandleader
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: blogblogginaway
Maybe the North Koreans need some help, they might just be confused.

We should show them a nuclear weapon up close and personal, so that they can understand the difference between a conventional one and an nuclear one.

139 posted on 10/13/2006 7:37:16 AM PDT by fortheDeclaration (Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? (Gal.4:16))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120121-139 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson