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New Looks like North Korea detonated something
[link|http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4245545.html|Houston Chronicle]
North Korea faced a barrage of global condemnation and calls for harsh sanctions Monday after it announced that it had set off an atomic weapon underground, a test that thrusts the secretive communist state into the elite club of nuclear-armed nations.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled a meeting for today, a U.S. official said. And Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Bush agreed during a telephone call today that the U.N. Security Council must take "decisive action" against North Korea.

South Korea's geological institute estimated the force of the explosion to be equivalent to 550 tons of TNT, far smaller than the two nuclear bombs the U.S. dropped on Japan in World War II. But Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said it was far more powerful, equivalent to 5,000 to 15,000 tons of TNT.

No surprise that everybody except North Korea is upset at the test. The interesting point is the conflicting reports on just how big the bomb was.

Jay
New Bush is going to make a statement soon.
[link|http://www.washingtonpost.com/?nav=globaltop&reload=true|Live Video via the Washington Post].

I hope he doesn't say something stupid...

Cheers,
Scott.
New It was about 2 minutes.
He said they were still working to confirm the test. He said the test was "unacceptable" and that the US would regard any transfer of nuclear technology or weapons as a direct threat to the US and that the US would hold NK responsible.

IOW, more bluster from the US while we have few, if any, levers to do anything about it. It sounded to me like it was a restatement of earlier policy. A policy that manifestly has not worked thus far.

The Washington Post has a [link|http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100801169_pf.html|story] about the situation this morning that mentions something that I think is getting too little notice:

"The North Koreans are making a statement that 'you guys can gang up on us, but you can't change us,' " said Lho Kyong Soo, international relations professor at Seoul National University. "Now, they're hoping they could get away with this like Pakistan. They're saying treat us with respect and accept us this way because we are not going to change."

James A. Kelly, a former U.S. assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs who previously handled the Bush administration's dealings with North Korea, said last week that Pyongyang's timing may have been prompted in part by the imminent selection of Ban as U.N. Secretary General. The North has smarted in the past at having to deal with the South Koreans, rather than directly with the Americans, in any type of diplomatic conflict.

"It's possible this threat of the tests is as much aimed at Ban Ki Moon as otherwise," Kelly said. "It's a big part of North Korea's obsessions with direct dealings with Americans is to avoid giving direct legitimacy to South Korea."

But U.S. officials said early this morning that the Security Council planned to go ahead with Ban's election as the first order of business before turning to North Korea, in an effort to show that North Korea's action will not deter his selection.


The NK regime has been desperate to be seen as a player in the region for ages, and to be seen as more important than the South. I have little doubt that the timing was influenced by the prospect of a SK diplomat taking over as head of the UN.

I sincerely hope that people in the Administration recognize that in addition to the obvious security implications there are psychological aspects to this conflict that need to be carefully addressed. Empty, or unilateral, threats aren't going improve the situation.

Cheers,
Scott.
     N. Korea claims successful nuclear test. No details yet... -NT - (Another Scott) - (12)
         Looks like North Korea detonated something - (JayMehaffey) - (2)
             Bush is going to make a statement soon. - (Another Scott) - (1)
                 It was about 2 minutes. - (Another Scott)
         Re: N. Korea claims successful nuclear test. No details yet - (pwhysall)
         Maybe its real, maybe not - (tuberculosis) - (1)
             It seems similar to their earlier explosion. - (Another Scott)
         North Korea detonation seems odd, UN debates response - (JayMehaffey) - (5)
             There were similar disagreements about India and Pakistan. - (Another Scott) - (3)
                 I'll choose Door #1 too: 'partial yield' - explains lots. - (Ashton) - (2)
                     Good points. I'd forgotten that. - (Another Scott) - (1)
                         It's all much as Ashleigh Brilliant says (here especially) - (Ashton)
             Not everybody in S. Korea is so upset about this. - (inthane-chan)

I’ve heard that Vicks Vapo-Rub tastes exactly like chicken.
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