Oooohhhh, boy...

[Griff]

I agree. Look for China to step up here. I think its interesting that China and Japan are talking just in time for this, if Seole gets in on it you know NK is toast. He's not going to be able to deliver this sucker without a train or a ship so they have time...

[Spexxvet]

The track record of this administration would indicate that we will nuke NK. It's just the right combination of pre-emption, hypocracy, and bullying to be the defining moment of W's presidency.

Of course, it would be done to promote democracy!

[Ibby]

Really, it looks like that may be the only option at this point. I'm not in favor of it by a long shot, but if we wait until they have nukular WEAPONS, then it's SERIOUSLY gonna be 'fuck'. If we move now, I say we can take 'em.

[Hippikos]

Bush bluffed and lost. Since the start of his 1st term in 2000, everything Clinton did was reversed. No more containment policy, no more carrot and stick, only stick and rethorics. Blunt "diplomacy" of Bolton totally stroke back. Bush gambled on not negotiating with NKorea and let all the talking to China. And see where this all lead to. Another utter and complete failure of the Bush Guvmint foreign policy. These 8 years will be remembered as the most distastrous in US history...

Next: Japan will develop it's own nuclear arms.

If we move now, I say we can take 'em.

Thats will be the death of 100 thousands SKoreans too, as the Great Devine Leader Mr.Kim promised.

[wolf]

Excuse me, but I have to dash out and buy a couple of cases of MRES, a Level A Suit, and a few extra cases of ammo. No, I don't expect Philadelphia to be nuked, but I do expect that the North Koreans will have bad aim and either under or overshoot New York City and/or Washington, D.C.

[Undertoad]

It's not that they have bad aim. It's that they've just started marketing the only thing they've ever produced in-house, outside of US currency, that the rest of the world would like to purchase.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

It's not that they have bad aim. It's that they've just started marketing the only thing they've ever produced in-house, outside of US currency, that the rest of the world would like to purchase.

If they actually have a working design, perhaps they'll trade a few to Iran for some Chineese missiles that work.

Anybody heard a confirmation of detected radation consistant with a fusion bomb yet? It wouldn't suprise me at all for them to have put a couple of kilotons of TNT in a mine and set it off...

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Hippikos

Bush bluffed and lost. Since the start of his 1st term in 2000, everything Clinton did was reversed.

Not quite. NK got their nuke tech while Clinton was playing kissy-face with them...that wasn't reversed. Bush just refused to be blackmailed by NK's "feed our people or we'll start tossing nukes".

"Once you pay the Danegeld, you will never be rid of the Dane".

[Undertoad]

This guy thinks it was a dud

[Undertoad]

So does this guy

If this is the case, there will be expert opinion suggesting it soon. If that doesn't happen maybe these guys are blowing smoke or just having fun with their speculations. We'll see I guess

[Happy Monkey]

I couldn't open the first link, but that second one makes a lot of sense to the untrained eye (mine). Conventional explosives would probably "ramp up" as the reaction burns through the available fuel, while the real thing would go all at once.

Even neutral Switzerland is pissed off about this one:

The Swiss government has condemned a nuclear test carried out by North Korea, and said Switzerland is ready to support United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang.
The foreign ministry statement came after North Korea announced on Monday that it had carried out an underground nuclear test.

In a strongly worded communiqué, the Swiss government described the reported test as "counter to international efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons... and as a threat to the security of the region".

Neutral Switzerland also took the unusual step of agreeing to support binding sanctions, should they be imposed by the UN Security Council, which has already scheduled meetings to discuss what action to take.

The Swiss reaction followed similar condemnation by President Bush, who called on the Security Council to deliver an "immediate response" to the test.

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/d...=1160409290000

I don't know about Cold War II. But N. Korea has certainly succeeded in isolating itself from the world. They may be mad that the US won't talk to them, but it sounds to me like no one is going to talk to them. If they were hoping for hand-outs from the rest of the world, they sure went about it the wrong way. Idiots!

[Spexxvet]

Do you think we can starve them to death with a total blockade before they have a functional nukular missile?

[Griff]

I think they've already shown that starving their population isn't a big deal to them.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

I couldn't open the first link, but that second one makes a lot of sense to the untrained eye (mine). Conventional explosives would probably "ramp up" as the reaction burns through the available fuel, while the real thing would go all at once.

TNT has high enough brisance that it would be difficult to distinguish from a nuke from seismic data alone. It's not by accident that KT is the standard by which nuclear yield is measured.