News North Korea performs its third nuclear warhead detonation

[N_Molson]

Early this morning, a sismic wave was recorded all around Asia. South Korea and China quickly confirmed it was not a natural phenomenon, but the 3rd nuclear weapon test that North Korea was planning to perform.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/12/north-korea-nuclear-test-earthquake

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/11/world/asia/north-korea-seismic-disturbance/index.html?hpt=ias_c1

http://www.lemonde.fr/asie-pacifiqu...a-un-nouvel-essai-nucleaire_1830597_3216.html

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Is it a nuke, or is it 6000 tons of ANFO? I wouldn't put it past the North Koreans to fill a hole in the ground with ANFO, throw some reactor waste on top, and set that off in order to claim a "nuclear test." So unless there's a different seismic wave for conventional explosives and nukes, we won't know for a while.

 

[Quick_Nick]

Is it a nuke, or is it 6000 tons of ANFO? I wouldn't put it past the North Koreans to fill a hole in the ground with ANFO, throw some reactor waste on top, and set that off in order to claim a "nuclear test." So unless there's a different seismic wave for conventional explosives and nukes, we won't know for a while.

They've done previous tests, they're very much interested in nukes, and they have no spending limit. So I would say it's nukes.

 

[Urwumpe]

Since exploding a 6 kT nuke is much harder than exploding a 20 kT nuke, I suspect chances are high that this must not be a first. But if they get to 5-6 kT successfully, they would also be in a range for thermonuclear primaries or small warheads for their small rockets.

 

[Notebook]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21421841

North Korea confirms third nuclear test

N.

 

[jedidia]

Let's just hope they don't plan on re-inventing nuclear artillery...

 

[Kyle]

Knew it was a nuke only moments after it detonated, happened to be on the USGS site when this popped up:

M4.9 - 24km ENE of Sungjibaegam, North Korea
2013-02-12 02:57:51 UTC

Event Time

2013-02-12 02:57:51 UTC
2013-02-12 11:57:51 UTC 09:00 at epicenter
2013-02-12 13:57:51 UTC 11:00 system time
Location

41.299N 129.081E
depth = 1.0km (0.6mi)

Nearby Cities

24km (15mi) ENE of Sungjibaegam, North Korea
34km (21mi) WNW of Hau-ri, North Korea
42km (26mi) NNW of Kilju, North Korea
51km (32mi) WSW of Hoemul-li, North Korea
378km (235mi) NE of Pyongyang, North Korea

It had to be a nuke, it was at the same coordinates as the last one.

 

[Face]

Moderation note: thread reopened. Please remember that this is a NEWS thread and that any and all political discussions belong in the basement here.