Huh?
Why would you fake a nuclear test?
Is this some practical joke?
It doesn’t matter if the test was real or fake.
What matters is if you believe it was real.
Sure, the UN can issue economic sanctions against North Korea, but remember - North Korea’s economy is cut off from the rest of the world and economic sanctions would have little impact.
news.com.au: Nuke tests may have been ‘faked’
An anonymous US intelligence official said that first-time nuclear tests have historically been in the several kilotonne range.
Monitors in Norway and Russia said their readings indicated an explosion of between one and 10 kilotonnes, but US authorities claimed it was much smaller – below one kilotonne.
“I don’t think you can rule out the possibility that he’s (Kim Jong-Il) faking out the world,” the official said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said the US reaction to North Korea’s test would be the same whether the explosion was nuclear or not.
More: Things to know about North Korea’s reported nuclear test
Q: How does the North Korean nuclear explosion, if that’s what it was, compare with traditional weapons?
A: The South Koreans estimated that the North Korean explosion was equivalent to 550 tons of TNT, and the French set it at 500 tons. Either way, it would be dwarfed by the bombs the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in World War II, which had the force of 15,000 and 20,000 tons of TNT. The Russians measured the North Korean blast at 5,000 to 15,000 tons.
More:
Korean nuclear test: real or fake?
North Korean Nuke: Fake or Failure?
N Korea: Was it, or wasn’t it?
Kim Jong-il Says the Darnedest Things
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Peter 10.11.06 at 9:47 am
It’s definately a fake test. North Korea is dying and backed into a corner. They’re trying to scare the world to the negotiating table but no one wants to talk to them.
DoubtingThomas 10.12.06 at 11:43 pm
Every new threat has brought Kim Jong Dong Bong a new payoff. Little kids will keep trying that until they get their little fingers whacked. The UN is gutless and infested with bottom feeders who will try this when they see that Kim gets results.