Posted on 05/27/2009 10:28:55 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Missiles may be an attempt to thwart detection
May 28, 2009
North Korea has launched five short-range missiles since carrying out its underground nuclear test Monday and could be preparing to fire off another one soon, further heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula and across the region.
The launches likely represent an attempt by Pyongyang to interfere with South Korean and U.S. efforts to detect the radioactive gases that a nuclear explosion emits, analysts said. Nuclear explosions create radioactive noble gases, such as xenon and krypton, that don’t combine with other geological elements, according to Harold P. Smith, a former assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, in a 2006 issue of Arms Control Today.
In the case of an underground nuclear explosion, those gases can leak to the surface and then rise into the atmosphere, where they can be detected. Analysis of air samples, therefore, can help determine whether a nuclear test was successful and also identify the type of nuclear device tested.
U.S. Air Force protocol is to dispatch a special reconnaissance jet, the WC-135 Constant Phoenix, from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, in the event of a North Korean nuclear test. The plane’s mission is to collect air samples in the area that will help detect nuclear blasts.
A South Korean military source also said that South Korean and U.S. officials have been using a naval vessel as part of their detection efforts for the North’s latest test. The North could therefore be firing off missiles to disrupt those operations.
The country fired all five missiles from the east coast of the peninsula. On Monday, the same day it conducted the nuclear test, the North fired two anti-aircraft missiles. The following day it launched three missiles - two ground-to-ship missiles and one ground-to-air missile.
Intelligence sources believe that the North is preparing to launch yet another missile in the near future.
The missiles that North Korea launched can only travel up to 200 kilometers (124.2 miles). But they still potentially pose a threat to the U.S. detection efforts.
The ground-to-air missile has a 130-kilometer range, which is considered long for that type of weapon. If the WC-135 Constant Phoenix stayed out of the missile’s range, it could have a more difficult time collecting samples for analysis. The ground-to-ship missile has a 160-kilometer range, not considered in the long-range category. Still, it can reach the Sokcho, Gangwon area on South Korea’s east coast, which could obstruct the naval vessel’s operations there.
North Korea has previously fired multiple missiles over a short period of time, launching seven in July 2006 ahead of its nuclear test that year. It now appears to be firing missiles to deliberately raise tensions on the peninsula.
Earlier yesterday, South Korea’s Ministry of Defense adjusted the number of North Korean missiles launched from six to five. Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said intelligence officials had mistakenly reported that one missile was launched at noon on Monday. Won refused to elaborate on the cause of the error.
Ping!
This is going to end, badly. Very badly.
I would think Nobel Gases would decay via alpha particles and would be difficult to detect from a distance, which is why we would need to fly directly over NK.
The stand-in for Savage on the radio this evening concluded that the nuclear test combined with rocket launches is really advertising. They are telling the world they are open for business to supply nuclear warheads and delivery systems.
Since the NorKs announced the test in advance, albeit shortly in advance, it seems more like bristle and bluster than clandestine subterfuge.
Thanks for the pings....Usually don’t read them till morning, but waited up to see what was happening.
The North Koreans would appear inexorably to be - as we used to say in the Fifties - cruisin’ for a bruisin’.
The only possible silver lining in this whole coming armageddon is the fact Conservatives will come out of the rubble armed, the surviving left wing will not. Perhaps then we can finally have a full accounting and ultimate justice.
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