[digger48]

ruh-roh

[BladeLWS]

oh this is gonna get GOOD!

[SquirrelKing]

Foiled by Team America?

[Strategerist]

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.

This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever - if simply the high explosive trigger goes off, you do NOT get an M 4 range earthquake.

I have very limited confidence in Gertz's sources or competence.

[TASMANIANRED]

Lil'Kim screwed up....

[MrNationalist]

I wonder if this gave them the idea of using explosives to appear like a Nuclear test.


Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3655613.stm

[bandleader]

I thought that it was just the female that"Faked"an orgasm?

[clintonh8r]

I say we bomb 'em anyway, just because we can.....

[TOneocon]

I read the equivalent of 500 tons of TNT was used.
Trying to impress the world of their new found explosive power has but resulted in a humiliating dud. Its' possible NK had the blast to impress the Iranian scientists present that a nuke blast did occur in the hopes Iran would fall for it and result in Iran percurment of the technology.
I, myself, a'm doubting the nuke blast occurred.

[RobFromGa]

Thanks for moving this one to breaking.

[Anti-Bubba182]

It is possible to make a lower yield device.

Davy Crockett (nuclear device)

"..The M-388 round used a version of the W54 warhead, a very small sub-kiloton fission device. The Mk-54 weighed about 51 lb (23 kg), with a selectable yield of 10 or 20 tons (very close to the minimum practical size and yield for a fission warhead). The complete round weighed 76 lb (34.5 kg). It was 31 in. (78.7 cm) long with a diameter of 11 in. (28 cm) at its widest point; a subcaliber piston at the back of the shell was actually inserted into the launcher's barrel for firing.."

[Solamente]

Maybe Rove suggested the blast be downplayed, so that Kim will test all his nukes underground and run out!

[SmithL]

The Film Actor's Guild is deeply disturbed

[Wil H]

It depends upon what the meaning of "nuclear" is......

[cowtowney]

Nucrear Exprosion? Reary?

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Oh, OK. We do not need any response now. Nighty nite.
Is the sarcasm tag needed?

[nwctwx]

I'd be a little cautious:

-past underground tests have appeared smaller on seismograph readings than they actually were.

-the russians should not be looked at as an entirely non-credible source... they know a lot about underground testing and its results.

-if it was a failure, we are still likely to see further attempts.

-worst option could be that they have a small yield weapon that could fit on a missile in their inventory.

They have been pumping money into this for years... it's not as hard to accomplish as it was when we did it. It's highly likely that if this failed, they will still succeed if not forceably stopped.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

This is gonna make the Chia Pet go crazy. He might go critical mass all by himself!

[cookcounty]

"U.S. intelligence agencies say, based on preliminary indications, that North Korea did not produce its first nuclear blast yesterday,

That's what we thought, but was it big enough to be nookyuler?

[WestVirginiaRebel]

If true this could explain reports of a possible second test. Mini-Me is going to keep trying until he's not so ronery anymore.