NKorea declares it conducted nuclear test

[Galaxy]

NKorea declares it conducted nuclear test
Jean H. Lee, Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea â?? North Korea claimed it carried out a powerful underground nuclear test Monday â?? much larger than one conducted in 2006 â?? in a major provocation in the escalating international standoff over its rogue nuclear and missile programs.

Pyongyang announced the test, and Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed an atomic explosion at 9:54 a.m. (0054 GMT) in northeastern North Korea, estimating the blast's yield at 10 to 20 kilotons â?? comparable to the bombs that flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The regime also test-fired three short-range, ground-to-air missiles later Monday from the same northeastern site where it launched a rocket last month, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed sources. The rocket liftoff, widely believed to be a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology, drew censure from the U.N. Security Council.

North Korea, incensed by the condemnation of the April 5 rocket launch, had warned last month that it would restart its rogue nuclear program, conduct an atomic test and carry out long-range missile tests.

On Monday, the country's official Korean Central News Agency said the regime "successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test on May 25 as part of measures to bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense."

President Barack Obama said a nuclear test would constitute an act of "blatant defiance" of the U.N. Security Council and a violation of international law, and only further isolate North Korea.

North Korea's claims "are a matter of grave concern to all nations," he said, calling for international action in a statement from Washington. "North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security."

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said the U.N. Security Council will meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday in New York (2030 GMT).

[the image reaper]

yup, and also fired 3 more missiles ... that sawed-off freak will set a regional war, with his posing ... every time he acts warlike, we give him a few more billion dollars, then he goes away for awhile :wtf: ... meanwhile, the poor North Koreans are brewing grass tea, to survive on (no, not the 'good' kind of grass) :wtf:

[filo6942]

still no proof that it actually happened.

[apocolips31]

When North Korea doesn't get what it wants it throws a temper tantrum.

[killerweed420]

He's quite the psycho. The best bet is to do just what were doing. Sanctions. If he leaves his borders with either manpower or weapons take him out. Hopefully he'll keep testing those nukes on his own soil and before too long there won't be any habitable land left in N Korea.

[the image reaper]

still no proof that it actually happened.

yeah, yeah, we know .... George Bush did it ! :wtf:

Quote: " They registered the tremor from the blast at 4.5 on the Richter scale. That is 1.0 more than in 2006, or 10 times greater. It is estimated that the 2006 test was about 800 tons, just under one kiloton. That would make today's blast around 10 kilotons.

By comparison, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was 22 kilotons. " Unquote

[Mr. Clandestine]

Reaper's right, they noticed the seismic activity at the same time N.Korea was making the claim that it detonated an underground nuke. It was picked up on just like it was in 2006 when they did the same thing.

And the UN Security Council is pretty pissed off right now, so I'd say they've got all the evidence they need.

UN Security Council condemns NKorea nuke test (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_KOREAS?SITE=TXBEA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT)

But, the question is, will they actually do anything about it?

[the image reaper]

even Russia has joined in :

Quote " Russian officials said the nuclear bomb that the North detonated underground Monday was comparable to those that obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, raising fears that the communist country could spread such technology abroad." Unquote ...

there must be a lot going on in the back rooms right now, even Russia and China are pissed ... and, a few minutes ago, the news said N. Korea is now readying several more missiles for launch ... :wtf:
cold hard fact: there are a lot of crazies in this old world, and you can't stop them all, with only words ... sad to say :smokin:

[Galaxy]

By SIYOUNG LEE, Associated Press Writer Siyoung Lee, Associated Press Writer

YEONPYEONG, South Korea â?? North Korea defiantly test-fired another short-range missile Friday and warned it would act in "self-defense" if provoked by the U.N. Security Council, which is considering tough sanctions against the communist regime for conducting a nuclear test.

The North fired the missile from its Musudan-ni launch site on the east coast, a South Korean government official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter. It is the sixth short-range missile North Korea has test-fired since Monday's nuclear test.

The official did not provide further details. But the Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified South Korean government official as saying the missile is a new type of ground-to-air missile estimated to have a range of up to 160 miles (260 kilometers).

With tensions high on the Korean peninsula, Chinese fishing boats left the region, possibly to avoid any maritime skirmishes between the two Koreas. But U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the situation was not a crisis and no additional U.S. troops would be sent to the region.

North Korea, meanwhile, warned it would retaliate if provoked.

"If the U.N. Security Council makes a further provocation, it will be inevitable for us to take further self-defense measures," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea also accused the Security Council of hypocrisy.

"There is a limit to our patience," the statement said. "The nuclear test conducted in our nation this time is the Earth's 2,054th nuclear test. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have conducted 99.99 percent of the total nuclear tests."

The North has been strident since its test â?? which it has also called a self-defensive measure. It did not specify what further action it was considering in response to U.N. resolutions, or what it would consider a provocation.

Fears have increased of military skirmishes, particularly in disputed waters off the western coast, after North Korea conducted the nuclear test on Monday and then renounced the truce that has kept peace between the Koreas since the Korean War ended in 1953.

The waters were the site of two deadly clashes in 1999 and 2002.

From Yeonpyeong, the South Korean island closest to North Korea, about a dozen Chinese ships could be seen pulling out of port in the North and heading elsewhere. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that more than 280 Chinese vessels were fishing in the area earlier this week, but the number has dropped to about 140.

It was not clear if the Chinese vessels, in the area for the crabbing season, were told by the North to leave or if they were leaving on their own for fear of clashes at sea.

"For now, it seems quiet," said local construction worker Lee Hae-un, 43. "But if North Korea provokes us with military power, I think our government should actively and firmly counteract it."

South Korean and U.S. troops facing North Korea raised their surveillance on Thursday to its highest level since 2006, when North Korea tested its first nuclear device. About 28,000 American troops are stationed across the South.

North Korea, whose 1.2-million strong military is one of the world's largest, says it is merely preparing to defend itself against what it says are plans by the United States to launch a pre-emptive strike to overthrow its communist government.

The United States has repeatedly denied any intention to attack North Korea.

In Washington, the Army's top officer, Gen. George Casey, expressed confidence that the U.S. could fight a conventional war against North Korea if necessary, despite continuing conflicts elsewhere.

But Gates, en route to Singapore for regional defense talks, tried to lower the temperature.

"I don't think that anybody in the (Obama) administration thinks there is a crisis," Gates told reporters aboard his military jet early Friday.

Meanwhile, talks at the U.N. Security Council over possible sanctions for the nuclear test were moving forward slowly.

Russia's U.N. ambassador said Thursday there was wide agreement among key world powers on what a new U.N. resolution should include, but said putting the elements together will take time because the issues are "complicated."

A list of proposals was sent Wednesday to the five permanent veto-wielding council members â?? the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France â?? and the two countries most closely affected by the nuclear test, Japan and South Korea.

Diplomats said a draft of the proposed resolution is not expected to be circulated until next week.

The two Koreas technically remain at war because they signed a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953. North Korea disputes the U.N.-drawn maritime border off their west coast and has positioned artillery guns along the west coast on its side of the border, Yonhap said.

Traffic at the border between the Koreas appeared to be normal. Yonhap said more than 340 South Korean workers crossed to a joint industrial complex in the North.

The two Koreas are also maintaining a communication line to exchange information on commercial vessels passing through each other's waters, Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said.

___

Associated Press writers Jae-soon Chang in Seoul, Anne Gearan in Washington, Lara Jakes aboard a U.S. military jet and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

[yokinazu]

oh and heres the shittin kaboodle of it all they are now out of the truce so to say, perfect timing on n. koreas part. can we really fight a war on 3 fronts. if they attack across the border into s. korea say is the US in any way ready to fight a war in the middle east and in korea? with barama in charge?
and lets face it all those pansys at the UN are goin to look to us to do somthing about it. so kudos to kim for timing on this one.

[the image reaper]

" you be nice to us, or I'm gonna go tell the United Nations, on ya ! " :beatdeadhorse:

[Delta9 UK]

oh and heres the shittin kaboodle of it all they are now out of the truce so to say, perfect timing on n. koreas part. can we really fight a war on 3 fronts. if they attack across the border into s. korea say is the US in any way ready to fight a war in the middle east and in korea? with barama in charge?
and lets face it all those pansys at the UN are goin to look to us to do somthing about it. so kudos to kim for timing on this one.

On force number etc.

U.S Forces in theatre 28,000 (I think that's all types mixed)

South Korean forces:
560,000 Army
68,000 Navy
64,000 Air Force
2,330 tanks | 12 subs | 400 combat aircraft

North Korean forces:
950,000 Army
46,000 Navy
110,000 Air Force
3,500 tanks | 63 subs | 620 combat aircraft

No matter who is in charge it would be a nightmare.

Don't forget Seoul is only 30 miles south of the border - that's Artillery range to me and you.

[tuscani]

you think operation black jack is just media fear mongering, or illuminati foreshadowing... we will see, but this fits in with the telegraphs lame symbol ridden cartoonsss...the apocalypse is uponn uss :jointsmile::jointsmile:

[the image reaper]

the troop numbers pale in the presence of ONE bomb, though ... I just feel so sorry for the people over there ... millions starving to death, while that twisted runt spends billions on his war machine :wtf:

[Mr. Clandestine]

N.Korea will soon test launch even more missiles, at least one of which is reported to be an ICBM: Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSEO14165620090601).

What in the hell is Kim Jong-il thinking? :wtf: Makes you wonder if he's just doing this to bolster the image of his youngest son, who's just become the heir of the N.Korea dynasty, or if he truly is crazy enough to start launching random attacks on their enemies. Whatever the UN is doing to resolve this, it isn't working...

[overgrowthegovt]

the troop numbers pale in the presence of ONE bomb, though ... I just feel so sorry for the people over there ... millions starving to death, while that twisted runt spends billions on his war machine :wtf:

Billions on the war machine, despite dire poverty that needs to be fixed? You just described every U.S. president since Truman.

So the world has another nuclear power...doesn't scare me anymore than the idea of Israel or the U.S. being armed, despite the moral-superiority rhetoric. It's not like North Korea can do anything with its weapon...in today's age, no one can use a nuke and hope to survive the counter-attack. That's the only reason the Cold War stayed cold. They're just security blankets, really, and considering North Korea isn't a protected member of the international community, this just serves to make them a little less vulnerable to what we can throw at them. Despite all the sensationalism, all that will happen now is that N. Korea and the Western world will both sit on their nukes quietly and grit their teeth at each other. They may very well invade South Korea at any time, but with smaller weapons...to nuke their neighbour to the south would be suicide, considering the reaction it would get internationally. The world has stayed nuke-strike-free since 1945 and will for the foreseeable future.

If there's one country that I fear might go absolutely insane with their power, it's Israel. That tyranny has been known to strike at whomever they please, with U.S. backing (something the Koreans don't have). The genocide of the Palestinians or the annihilation of Lebanon or Iran wouldn't surprise me all that much.