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Alarm at North Korea nuclear test
Gordon Brown and Barack Obama among first to denounce the regime's new underground test
The world has reacted with alarm this morning at the news that North Korea has staged a "successful" underground nuclear test. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the test "in the strongest possible terms" while US President Barack Obama described the action as a threat to international peace. Crisis talks are being held in South Korea and in Russia.
North Korea state radio announced that the test had been "successfully conducted... as part of measures to enhance the Republic's self-defensive nuclear deterrent in all directions".
There were also reports from South Korea that the North had test-fired a short-range missile a few hours after the underground explosion.
What is exercising western observers is not just the provocative nature of the test itself, but the fact that the device appears to be considerably larger than the last one the North Koreans tested, back in October 2006:
♦ The state radio announcement talked of "a new high level in terms of explosive power and control technology";
♦ The Russian Defence Ministry detected a blast of "between 10 and 20 kilotons" - while the 2006 test was thought by the US to be less than one kiloton;
♦ The US Geological Survey measured the tremor produced by today's explosion at 4.7 on the Richter scale: the 2006 test registered 3.58.
North Korea has rejected talks about its nuclear ambitions with the Obama administration, accusing the White House of continuing the "hostile policy" of the George Bush era. A new test had been on the cards since the UN Security Council condemned its April 5 launch of a long-range missile.
The country is believed to have enough plutonium to make six to eight bombs. It said in April that it intended to reopen its plutonium factory to produce more. ·
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DonR shows exactly what the problem is with the mighty but ignorant giant blundering around for the last 60yrs. What is the need, never mind right or obligation for the US "to do" anything about sovereign states on the other side of the ocean that can barely contain their own restive populations?
When Shrub the First then his idiot scion, promised to be isolationist all I could think was "Oh if only!!" Everything they've touched has turned to ..errr.. faeces for three generations. Just go away and tend to internal problems - WORLD'S HIGHEST PRISON POPULATION (not per capita- ABSOLUTE), LOWEST LITERACY RATE in OECD, HIGHEST INFANT & MOTHER MORTALITY in OECD, little things like that would be enough to be getting on with.
You dont have to read this article to understand Barack and China are being tested.
Mr President what are you going to to do with the two rogue states? You are being tested.
Talk is cheap!!!!!!
An entirely logical and predictable course of action on the part of North Korea: the Nuclear Deterrent simply works. Moreover, little else does. Further sanctions seem unlikely, given the pressure such would put on the Russian and Chinese borders. Trade normalisation is probably better seen as the solution rather than the goal. Be fascinating to see how the 5 counterparties proceed.
The CIA admitted, very sotto voce, after the las,t allegedly successful test, that only the convential hi-ex detonated, not the nuclear trigger being tested. Still, why let facts ameliorate a good scare story? Even if this time the fissile material did explode, it is still only a 'device' which is NOT a bomb nor weapon until it is stable, and small enough, to be transportable even if only by semi trailer.
How about all nations being allowed as many nuclear devices as they want but no delivery systems. If you want 'em, buyild them intyo the basement of the national Parliament/Rathaus/Diet/Majlis and local town halls. This would certainly be an effective deterence to invasion or occupation and everyone could happily retire to cultivating their gardens and minding their own business, safe & secure from threatening neighbours.
The nuclear and rocketry genie is out of the bottle and may even be available to rich 'privateers' (like Osama bin Laden) submarining (from a cargo ship) off the coast of any land in the near future. Ironically, Abba Ebban's quote about never 'missing an opportunity' may well now begin to apply equally to the Israelis ! This should concentrate the minds of both Bibi & Co and the Arab dictators, there is no time to waste on any further Banannapolis type of digressions, the time for real progress on the Israeli-Palestinian issue is now.