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Audacity of Truth
North Korea’s first nuclear weapon test
The big story of the day, as it should be (finally!) is the escalating rhetoric – and now actions – of Kim Jong-il. The NYT reports:
WASHINGTON, Monday, Oct. 9 — North Korea said Sunday night that it had set off its first nuclear test, becoming the eighth country in history, and arguably the most unstable and most dangerous, to proclaim that it has joined the club of nuclear weapons states.
The test came just two days after the country was warned by the United Nations Security Council that the action could lead to severe consequences.
American officials cautioned that they had not yet received any confirmation that the test had occurred. The United States Geological Survey said it had detected a tremor of 4.2 magnitude on the Korean Peninsula.
China called the test a “flagrant and brazen” violation of international opinion and said it “firmly opposes” North Korea’s conduct.
Senior Bush administration officials said that they had little reason to doubt the announcement, and warned that the test would usher in a new era of confrontation with the isolated and unpredictable country run by President Kim Jong-il.
Early Monday morning, even before the test was confirmed, Bush administration officials were holding conference calls to discuss ways to further cut off a country that is already subject to sanctions, and hard-liners said the moment had arrived for neighboring countries, especially China and Russia, to cut off the trade and oil supplies that have been Mr. Kim’s lifeline.
In South Korea, the country that fought a bloody war with the North for three years and has lived with an uneasy truce and failed efforts at reconciliation for more than half a century, officials said they believed that an explosion occurred around 10:36 p.m. New York time — 11:36 a.m. Monday in Korea.
FoxNews is reporting that a “senior administration official” has confirmed that NK comleted a successful test of a nuclear weapon:
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea completed a successful test of a nuclear weapon late Sunday night, a senior Bush administration official confirmed to FOX News.
The official said, however, that initial readings from South Korea reported only a 3.58-magnitude seismic reaction, which is smaller than what would be expected from the 4-kiloton explosion the communist nation sought. To put the bomb’s capabilities in context, a 20-kiloton explosion could conceivably kill 200,000 people.
“North Korea may not have got what they wanted,” the official said.
The U.S. Geological Survey, however, said it detected a 4.2-magnitude tremor at 10:35 p.m. EDT, which could mean the device was potentially deadlier than initially believed. Australia also said there was seismic confirmation that North Korea conducted a nuclear test.
“It was a success from their perspective in that they achieved a nuclear yield, though that is not very difficult,” the official said. “It’s within their technical capabilities.”
Josh Manchester, who I meet this weekend at the Carolina FreedomNet 2006, wrote a column back on the 6th about North Korea on the regime’s plans to conduct a nuke test. Make sure to read it. (Thanks to Lorie [in an update to Kim Priestap's link roundup post] for the reminder)
I’m swamped this morning, so I won’t be able to keep up with updates on this story until this afternoon, so keep your browser ‘tuned’ to Hot Air, as I’m sure they will be all over it.
Update: Kim Priestap posts the the Prez will be commenting on North Korea’s actions at around 9:45 this morning.
Read more via Malkin, Outside the Beltway, Captain Ed
PM Update: More from Josh: Was this nuke test a hoax?
Prior:
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- Any of you Libdorks want to talk about the vaunted “Clinton legacy” now?
- Bang
I think its someone else’s legacy now
- You mean you wish you’d be able to revise history brad. Unfortunately Clinton “owns” this one, in spite of all your efforts to cover for his appeasing butt. The more you try to deny the mistakes he made, mistakes you on the Left want to make yet again in the WOT, the more singularly unsuited you look to hold positions of power.
- Bang
Should clinton have acted more like bush? or less?
Jimmy Carter started giving tech help to N Korea for “peaceful” nuclear power. Reagan stopped it during his presidency. Then Clinton went wild, could not seem to give N. Korea enough of what they wanted, but of course, again for “peaceful” purposes as N. Korea “promised” not to use Clinton”s gifts for weapons development.
And so here we are. Thank you Liberals for making the World as dangerous as it has ever been.
‘ll help you out here brad. The answer is that with the defiance of Russia, and all the “crook” nations in the UN, and even more, China, the truth is that neither Administration has had the means to stop the NK’s development of NW’s.
- It just get’s tiresome listening to the Left’s yammering about Clinton’s “great deeds”. He played right into the NK’s hands by attempting to appease them, and providing them exactly what they needed to succeed. But agian, with the stubborn lack of world/UN support, America could really not do much of anything during either adminsitration.
- The danger now would be to follow the same approach with Iran, the failed appeasement policies of Clinton, and the Left, will never work with despots.
- China now finds itself in a real mess, trying to deal with it’s “bad-boy” little protectorate. They have played a game of status quo since the Korean war, because their worst nightmare has always been a rebirth of the Japanese military, which they trully fear. I would imagine that Japan’s recent announcement that they might have to join the nuclear powers because of the actions of NK, has the leaders in Beijing totally frantic, trying to look for a way out from the mess.
- Another problem China would face is any collapse in the NK would result in millions of NK refuges flowing into China, something they’ve been trying to avoid for years. It’s a real mess alright, and they have themselves to blame for it.
I love that picture of Madeline Albright (or is it “half-bright”?), sharing a toast with the dictator! Yes, we can do business with this despot! He can be trusted! What will the “No Nukes are Good Nukes” crowd make of this event?
- That’s easy Tom. they’ll do what they always do, blame it on Bush.
If I had to guess, I think China will be the most likely decider. If things get bad enough, I’m betting China will just annex the NK, and take over leadership, making great pains to announce each and every move, and make peace with S. Korea and Japan.
- They have every reason to not want a massive interuption in their on-going modernization, and success’s in the world economy, but even more they would do just about anything to avoid a nuclear armed Japan.
- Bang
Bang, I think the first disruption in the Shanghai to-Long Beach sea-lane, will result in Mr. Il’s re-location to a re-education camp.
Jack Wheeler had an interesting answer to North Korea’s nuclear reactor back in December of 2002. In his article he said we could take out that reactor …:
Why do we dither with diplomats when the answer is easy and can include Iran, too?
Questions of fallout and pollution are answered:
This is something the US should do.
The Dems have wasted no time, claiming that if we weren’t “bogged down” in Iraq we could have done something about North Korea. Absolutely unbelievable. How do people actually belive this nonsense? Would the Dems authroize force against North Korea? Of course they wouldn’t!! Their hypocrisy is truly without limits.
Priceless!!! I just saw on Hannity and Colmes where Dick Morris, a former CLINTON advsior, was saying that the way to deal with N. Korea was giving Japan nuclear weapons!! He believes it would create a deterrent as well as light a fire under China’s butt to do something about N. Korea. I thought Colmes was going to have a cow!!!! Colmes asked Morris if nuclear proliferation has ever helped keep the peace and Morris replied “Yeah, for about sixty years after the bomb hit Hiroshima”. Gotta love it!!!