North Korea Nuclear Test

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - Trump gonna settle Fatboy's hash...

North Korea says nuclear development 'permanent'
Jan. 3, 2017 - Pyongyang’s state newspaper defended the policy as a deterrent against the United States’ military "threats."

North Korea's Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun stated Tuesday the country's policy of developing nuclear weapons while simultaneously pursuing economic growth remains unchanged. Two days after Kim Jong Un had said in his televised New Year's speech Pyongyang is ready to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, state media announced the country's policy of "Byongjin" is a permanent feature, South Korean news agency Newsis reported.

The statement appears to have been issued for propaganda purposes and to muster support for Kim's ambitions to raise North Korea's profile as a "nuclear power," according to the press report. "North Korea's resolve is always soon placed into practice," Pyongyang's statement read. "[Our] resolve is always truthful and scientific, and must be placed in action at all costs...the Party's path of Byongjin must be permanently held in hand, and not as a temporary countermeasure that copes with a sudden change in the state of affairs."

No. Korea war games on invading the So. Korea​

The North Korean newspaper also stated Kim's speech pointed out the "pivotal" role of nuclear power in the face of the "nuclear threat and intimidation of the United States and its followers." "We will continue to reinforce [nuclear power] for defense purposes," Pyongyang said in statement.

The Rodong article also linked nuclear weapons development to the North Korean people's capacity to "live with ten thousand blessings in a socialist state." The weapons represent the "most just, scientific route" for the society, the statement read. On New Year's Day, Kim had vowed to develop Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal and to continue the policy until the United States stops military drills in South Korea.

North Korea says nuclear development 'permanent'

See also:

Seoul: Trump's tweets are clear warnings to North Korea
Jan. 3, 2017 -- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tweeted response to North Korea's statement on missile development is a warning to Pyongyang, Seoul said Tuesday.

South Korea's foreign ministry spokesman Cho Joon-hyuk told reporters Trump's tweets, sent out on Monday, were the first messages the president-elect has issued directly addressing North Korea, South Korean news service News 1 reported. "President-elect Trump's messages can be interpreted as a clear warning, regarding Kim Jong Un's New Year's Day speech and the statement on intercontinental ballistic missiles," Cho said.

On Monday, Trump tweeted, "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!" Trump then tweeted, "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!"

The president-elect has previously said Beijing has done little to assist the United States in controlling North Korea's weapons proliferation, a statement that has invited speculation about his future North Korea policy and his approach to China, a country that has been cooperating on tougher sanctions.

Cho added Seoul is cooperating closely and is in "strategic communication" with Trump's transition team as well as the current administration of President Barack Obama. Beijing has yet to issue a response to Trump's social media statements, but on Monday state tabloid Global Times listed the "Korean peninsula" as the top site of a possible military conflict in 2017.

Beijing's state media claimed the peninsula cannot be ruled out as a place of conflict during Trump's presidency, and warned of a military response if Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen continues to strengthen notions of Taiwanese independence from the mainland. Under the "one-China policy" Beijing does not recognize Taiwanese sovereignty.

Seoul: Trump's tweets are clear warnings to North Korea

Related:

State Department: North Korea not capable of tipping missile with nuclear weapon
Jan. 3, 2017 -- The U.S. State Department said Tuesday it does not believe Kim Jong Un has the capability to place a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile.

The statement comes a few days after the North Korean leader announced his country is ready to test an intercontinental ballistic missile. Department spokesman John Kirby made the statement the same day the White House said nothing has changed in its assessment of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, Yonhap reported. North Korea sent shockwaves around the world after Kim said in a televised statement on Sunday the country is almost ready to test an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Kim also vowed to continue the development of the weapons as long as the United States remains committed to holding military exercises on the Korean peninsula. On Tuesday Kirby said the U.S. military stands ready deter Pyongyang's biggest threats, owing to a policy of rebalancing in the Asia-Pacific. "There is a military component to the Asia Pacific rebalance that the United States has pursued, and we have the majority of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific region," Kirby said. "We've moved special radars into place."

At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said there was "no change" in the assessment of North Korea's nuclear and missile development, and any changes in the assessment would come from the intelligence community. Seoul is taking North Korea's weapons program seriously and is to launch in 2017 a special unit assigned to strike the North Korean leadership, two years ahead of schedule, according to Yonhap. "We are planning to set up a special brigade with the goal of removing or [at least] paralyzing North Korea's wartime command structure [in the face of escalating threats]," Han said.

State Department: North Korea not capable of tipping missile with nuclear weapon

 

[Claudette]

If N Korea aims nuclear weapons at the US I doubt Trump will bow and kiss their asses.

 

[owebo]

If N Korea aims nuclear weapons at the US I doubt Trump will bow and kiss their asses.

No doubt they already are and no doubt Obama already did.....

 

[waltky]

Granny don't think puttin' the genie back inna bottle gonna work...

Can North Korea's nuclear expansion be stopped?
10 January 2017 - When President Trump (as he will then be) enters the White House, he will have an item flashing as urgent in his email inbox: North Korea.

In the election campaign, he offered to sit down with the country's leader Kim Jong-un over a burger, but that generosity seems less likely now. Eight years ago, when President Obama moved in, the tone was similarly helpful. Right at the start of his tenure, the new president made a gesture of conciliation to the North Korean leader, not quite an offer of friendship but an indication that nose-to-nose threats need not be the way. In his inaugural address in 2009, President Obama said he would offer an outstretched hand to those who would "unclench their fists". A few months later, Kim Jong-un responded with the launch of a substantial, multi-stage rocket and an underground explosion of a nuclear device. Both tests were seen by the United Nations as a defiant contravention of the policy of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

People watch a news report on North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test on 6 January 6 2016​

Some presidents talk tough but trip over realities. George W Bush said in 2006 that North Korea launching a long-range missile would be "unacceptable" - just before one was launched. A year earlier, he had said that "a nuclear armed Korea will not be tolerated." Yet, on all expert estimates, North Korea has made substantial progress in achieving that aim, of having a nuclear arsenal capable of devastating cities in the United States at very short notice. The ability is not there yet but many technology experts think it is getting there.

So the Obama (and Hillary Clinton) policy of strategic patience is giving way to louder talk of military impatience. The doctrine of squeezing North Korea with sanctions and waiting for change is being supplemented by military plans. South Korea said it was bringing forward plans to form army units trained to "decapitate" the regime - in plain English, to kill Kim Jong-un. The outgoing secretary of defence in Washington said that any test of a long-range missile which threatened the United States or its allies (South Korea and Japan) would result in it being shot down.

MORE

See also:

Carter: US Would Target ‘Threatening’ North Korean Missile
January 9, 2017 - The U.S. military would try to shoot down any North Korean missile deemed a threat to the country or its allies, the Pentagon’s top civilian said.

“If it were coming — if it were threatening to us, yes,” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Sunday in response to a question from moderator Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press” show. “That is, if it’s predicted to impact [the U.S. or] one of our friends or allies — yes, we would shoot it down.” The secretary seemed to suggest, however, the U.S. wouldn’t target a test launch of a missile into the ocean. “We only would shoot them down, and that is use an interceptive for that purpose, if it was threatening,” he said. “That is, if it were coming toward our territory or the territory of our friends and allies.”

Rising Tensions

Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have escalated over the past year amid the North’s increasing test of nuclear devices and ballistic missiles under the regime of Kim Jong-Un. In 2016 alone, North Korea tested a hydrogen bomb, submarine-launched ballistic missile, among other weapons in a spate of provocative demonstrations. It’s working to develop a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile by 2018, officials have said. Also Sunday, the regime signaled it was prepared to launch an ICBM “anytime and anywhere determined by the supreme headquarters,” according to an unidentified spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.

North Korea's KN-14 (Hwasong-14) is a newer truck-launched type of intercontinental ballistic missile with an estimated range of as much as 12,000 kilometers -- a distance that stretches from North Korea to Florida.​

The official said the country is developing the weapon “to cope with the ever more undisguised nuclear war threat from the U.S.,” according to a statement published on the website of the state-run North Korean Central News Agency, or KNCA. The comments came a week after President-elect Donald Trump tweeted, “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won’t happen!” While Trump has described the proliferation of nuclear weapons as a threat to national security, he has also said the U.S. would “outmatch” rivals in a nuclear arms race.

North Korean Missiles

 

[waltky]

The two missiles can be "launched at any time."...

Report: Two North Korea ICBMs placed in position
Jan. 23, 2017 - China is monitoring North Korea missile launches with a new radar.

North Korea placed two new intercontinental ballistic missiles into position in an area north of Pyongyang, a Japanese television network reported. NHK reported Sunday two ICBMs that may be equipped with newly developed engines might have been deployed ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration Friday. A South Korean military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told NHK the two missiles can be "launched at any time." Last week, Yonhap reported two new road-mobile ICBMs were recently captured by South Korea military intelligence.

The new road-mobile ICBMs appear to be shorter than Pyongyang's other versions, including the 19-20 meters in length KN-08 and the 17-18-meter-long KN-14, officials had told the South Korean news agency. According to NHK, the South Korean official said the "two-stage missile is similar to the medium-range ballistic missile Musudan. The first stage of the missile is different from the Musudan, and may be equipped with a newly developed engine."

A South Korean official told NHK two new two-stage missiles, "similar" to the midrange ballistic missile Musudan, is being deployed north of Pyongyang.​

China, which shares an 880-mile border with North Korea, is wary of Pyongyang's provocations and has warned its neighbor about weapons development. The Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, a nongovernmental organization in Hong Kong, said Sunday China has installed a new radar at a missile base in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, in northeastern China. The center quoted data on movements, provided by Chinese missile analysts, that states the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force has deployed high-performance radar at missile base 51 in Sujiatun, in order to closely monitor the movements of North Korea's ICBMs.

The analysts pointed out the radar at the Shenyang base will be able to easily monitor and track a North Korea launch of an ICBM. The PLARF is a Chinese tactical missile force of about 110,000 troops, with headquarters for operations located at Qinghe, Beijing. PLARF oversees subordinate missile bases in Shenyang, Qimen, Luoyang, Kunming, Baoji, Huaihua and Xining.

Report: Two North Korea ICBMs placed in position

 

[waltky]

Fatboy playin' with his rockets again...

North Korea could test midrange missile before ICBM, officials say
Jan. 30, 2017 -- An intermediate-range missile North Korea fired several times in 2016 may be tested before Pyongyang test-fires any intercontinental ballistic missiles under Kim Jong Un's orders.

South Korea military officials who spoke anonymously to local news services EDaily and the Kukmin Ilbo said North Korea has yet to perfect the technology that could allow for the atmospheric re-entry of a long-range ballistic missile. The reports come a week after a Japanese television network reported North Korea placed two new intercontinental ballistic missiles into position in an area north of Pyongyang.

But officials in Seoul are now saying North Korea has not developed any new ICBMs aside from the KN-08 and the KN-14. North Korea is likely to test-launch a midrange Musudan because the missile needs technical improvements, and its detonator and atmospheric re-entry need to be tested.

During his New Year's speech, Kim said North Korea had reached the final stage of preparations for launching an ICBM, and state media said a launch could take place at "any time, any place" in the weeks that followed. Last week, state-controlled television network KCTV aired footage of past launches of the Musudan. The footage included the partly successful launch of the midrange missile that took place in June 2016.

Pyongyang has test-launched a total of eight Musudan missiles, but most of the tests ended in failure, according to EDaily. The missile has a range of 1,900 to 2,500 miles and is capable of targeting Japan and the U.S. military base in Guam. Experts say North Korea's ICBMs, the KN-08 and the relatively new KN-14, are combining two Musudan engines as a single-stage propulsion system, Kukmin Ilbo reported.

North Korea could test midrange missile before ICBM, officials say

See also:

Analysis: Is North Korea's Collapse Imminent?
January 30, 2017 | WASHINGTON — Despite a growing narrative that North Korea might be teetering on the verge of collapse, there is a lack of consensus among U.S. experts on the imminent downfall of the reclusive regime.

Talks of a possible near-term regime collapse resurfaced among North Korea watchers when Thae Yong Ho, a high-level defector, said recently that the influx of information from outside the country and expansion of market activities within it are sapping traditional structures of the North Korean system. The regime is “crumbling” and the days of Kim Jong Un's leadership are “numbered,” said North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, prior to defecting with his family to South Korea in 2016. “Low-level dissent or criticism of the regime, until recently unthinkable, is becoming more frequent [among North Korea's elite],” Thae said at a news conference in Seoul last week. “We have to spray gasoline on North Korea and let the North Korean people set fire to it.”

Growing dissatisfaction

Following Thae's comments, a Wall Street Journal editorial suggested the Trump administration should “make regime change an explicit policy goal for North Korea.” Joseph DeTrani, former U.S. nuclear envoy and intelligence official, said that while Thae's claims are “significant commentary” based on the diplomat's knowledge base, there is virtually “no indication that the regime's collapse is imminent.” While saying that his views are based on limited information, DeTrani said he sees “a functioning government” in the North: private markets are functioning and people have access to food.

People watch a TV news program showing a file image of Thae Yong Ho, a high-profile North Korean defector, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea​

Ken Gause, who monitors the Kim regime, is also skeptical of Thae's prediction of regime change. Notwithstanding increasing international sanctions, he says, Pyongyang's economy is faring relatively well. Even with its chronic food shortage, the country is “not as in serious situation as it was in the 1990s when there was mass starvation.”

Popular uprisings unlikely

Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at the Center for Naval Analyses in Arlington, Virginia added that due to an extensive surveillance network of informants that covers every North Korean citizen, it is highly unlikely that information that could lead to a popular uprising will circulate among ordinary citizens. “If this regime is going to collapse, it will come from destabilization at the top of the regime,” Gause said. Some experts, however, give weight to Thae's description of Pyongyang's political state.

South Koreans watch a TV news program showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's New Year's speech, Jan. 1, 2017, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea.​

Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center in Washington, believes the Kim regime is being undermined significantly by disillusionment among North Koreans. “Mr. Thae's comments show that there is growing disillusionment, that the hopes that people had for Kim Jong Un have not panned out, that he is no better than his father and his grandfather, not only the repression but the resistance to allowing outside information in and implementing necessary economic reform,” the former intelligence official said.

Increasingly isolated

 

[whitehall]

Maybe it's time for a Korean War political education. Harry Truman didn't trust congress to support his mission to aid the South Koreans from the N.K. invasion so he sent Troops to Korea under an (illegal?) executive order. Truman could always count on the liberal media to support his decisions so he had no fear of legal constraints. That made Korea Truman's war. To make a long story short Truman Hired MacArthur to run the Korean operation and everything went well until MacArthur decided to disregard the parameters of the mission and take on the whole freaking Communist world with exhausted Troops. MacArthur's mission failed big time and that's when the liberal media bailed out. They called Korea the "Forgotten War" and we lost about 50,000 Troops during the three year quagmire and ended up where we started.

 

[waltky]

Finally, China calls for No. Korea to suspend missile and nuclear tests...

China calls on N Korea to suspend missile and nuclear tests
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 - In exchange, the US and South Korea should end military drills, says Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

China has proposed that North Korea suspend its tests of missile and nuclear technology to "defuse a looming crisis". Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that in exchange, the US and South Korea could halt annual joint military drills, which consistently infuriate the North. The appeal comes after North Korea test-launched four missiles on Monday, breaking international sanctions. In response, the US began rolling out a missile defence system in South Korea.

North Korea state media has broadcast footage purporting to show the missiles being launched​

Speaking on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary meeting, Mr Wang said the Korean peninsula was like "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way". "Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" he asked. A mutual halt of military operations would be the first step towards easing tensions and reopening negotiations, he said.

Thaad 'no threat to China'

Three of the North Korean missiles came down inside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Monday, prompting Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump to say the region had entered "a new stage of threat". The UN Security Council earlier strongly condemned the launch in a unanimous statement, calling it a grave violation of North Korea's international obligations, which risked destabilising the region. The Council, which will meet later on Wednesday, also threatened to "take further significant measures" against North Korea, which could imply efforts to introduce a fresh round of sanctions.

Meanwhile, the US has again sought to reassure Beijing over deployment of an extensive missile defence system in South Korea. The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad) is designed to protect South Korea, and US troops based there, from North Korean missile attacks. The first elements of it were moved into place on Tuesday, hours after the North's latest launch.

What is the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (Thaad)?

See also:

Latest North Korean Missile Launch Sparks New Fears in Asia, Silence From White House
March 6, 2017 - North Korea fired four missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Monday morning (Sunday afternoon in Washington), sparking condemnation from China and U.S. allies in Asia, and further ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula. " data-reactid="14">North Korea fired four missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Monday morning (Sunday afternoon in Washington), sparking condemnation from China and U.S. allies in Asia, and further ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Experts said Pyongyang is testing President Donald Trump’s neophyte administration — and plenty of others are taking note. “China, North Korea, and U.S. allies are going to be closely watching his response,” Thomas Karako, a missile defense expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Foreign Policy." “China, North Korea, and U.S. allies are going to be closely watching his response,” Thomas Karako, a missile defense expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Foreign Policy.

But some 18 hours after the launch, the White House has not yet issued any statement, despite immediate and sharp rebukes from Japan and South Korean leaders. (The White House has found the time, meanwhile, to dispute the conclusions of the FBI director on Trump’s wiretap claims.) But some 18 hours after the launch, the White House has not yet issued any statement, despite immediate and sharp rebukes from Japan and South Korean leaders. (The White House has found the time, meanwhile, to dispute the conclusions of the FBI director on Trump’s wiretap claims.)

U.S. allies in Asia condemned the launch as an 'extremely dangerous action.'​

“This is a direct challenge to the international community and a grave violation,” acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn said. “Having seen the brutality of North Korea from Kim Jong Nam, I’d say the consequences of the Kim Jong Un regime having nuclear weapons will be horrible,” he said, referring to the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s exiled half brother in Malaysia in February. “This is a direct challenge to the international community and a grave violation,” acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn said. “Having seen the brutality of North Korea from Kim Jong Nam, I’d say the consequences of the Kim Jong Un regime having nuclear weapons will be horrible,” he said, referring to the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s exiled half brother in Malaysia in February.

The missiles landed in water some 300 miles from Japanese shores, sparking an immediate rebuke from the Japanese government even as the White House remained silent." data-reactid="19">The missiles landed in water some 300 miles from Japanese shores, sparking an immediate rebuke from the Japanese government even as the White House remained silent. “The launches are clearly in violation of Security Council resolutions. It is an extremely dangerous action,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament, referring to U.N. Security Council resolutions passed against North Korea. " data-reactid="20">“The launches are clearly in violation of Security Council resolutions. It is an extremely dangerous action,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament, referring to U.N. Security Council resolutions passed against North Korea.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Will another nuclear test cause the Kim regime to implode?...

Defector: North Korea's next nuclear test could lead to collapse
March 14, 2017 -- The senior North Korea diplomat who defected to the South from Pyongyang's Embassy in London said Kim Jong Un's nuclear ambitions could bring about state collapse.

Thae Yong-ho, who recently compared Kim to the Roman emperor Nero, said North Korea is headed down a dangerous path as it seeks recognition as a nuclear weapons state like "India or Pakistan," Voice of America reported Tuesday. "The Kim Jong Un regime will never give up nuclear weapons," Thae said. The high-profile defector added North Korea could "fall apart" if the regime decides to conduct a major nuclear test at its Punggye-ri nuclear site, where Pyongyang conducts tests of weapons of mass destruction.

South Korean soldiers walk past a TV broadcasting North Korea's launch of several ballistic missiles into the East Sea at Seoul Station on March 6. North Korea could be preparing for its next nuclear test, but it could lead to a disaster that precipitates the collapse of the Kim Jong Un regime, a North Korean defector said Tuesday.​

Recent satellite images show tunnel digging continues at the site, which lies below the 800-meter Mount Mantap. According to 38 North, the activity indicates North Korea may be prepared to conduct additional underground nuclear tests. Thae said Tuesday the site is located on a road that connects Pyongyang to Hamgyong Province, and that "roads and railways that go up north pass by the nuclear test site." "If a large explosion takes place and the area becomes contaminated with radiation while Pyongyang loses control of the border region of North Hamgyong Province, mass defections could take place," Thae said.

A nuclear failure in a "small country like North Korea" could lead to disaster, the defector said, adding China and the international community must be aware of the danger. Thae also said Kim Jong Un is trying to achieve parity with South Korea's relatively more powerful military with his nuclear weapons program. In an annual ranking of militaries around the world, South Korea troops ranked the 11th most powerful in 2016, while North Korea's military strength ranked 25th in the survey by website Global Firepower.

Defector: North Korea's next nuclear test could lead to collapse

See also:

Report: North Korea developing anti-ship ballistic missiles
March 13, 2017 -- North Korea may be developing anti-ship ballistic missiles, multiple Seoul government officials say.

The "carrier killer" projectiles capable of hitting offshore moving targets – like navy vessels – were tested during North Korea's most recent missile test on March 6, South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported Tuesday, local time. The ASBM, unlike other ballistic missiles, can move at high speeds to directly hit a supercarrier with a single strike. The missile can modify its trajectory as its target moves and requires a precise high-performance terminal guidance system.

North Korea may have tested anti-ship ballistic missiles that can strike moving targets at sea, according to South Korea media.​

One South Korean government official who spoke to the JoongAng on the condition of anonymity said North Korea has developed "missile guidance and course correction technology," and that it was "tested in September 2016 and again on March 6, when [North Korea] test-launched four Scud-ER missiles." The source also said during North Korea's September test of Scud-ER missiles, all three rockets landed around the same point. "At the time North Korea was supposed to have fired at offshore targets," the official said.

The ASBM is a weapons system typically used by militaries with a relatively weak naval force. China and Iran are currently the only countries that deploy ASBMs to target offshore assets. U.S. and South Korea intelligence authorities suspect North Korea began to acquire ASBM technology from Iran in the '90s, according to the JoongAng. Iran recently launched two short-range ballistic missiles, including the Fateh-110 Mod 3, which has an "active seeker" that helps the rocket locate ships at sea.

Report: North Korea developing anti-ship ballistic missiles

 

[sealybobo]

If N Korea aims nuclear weapons at the US I doubt Trump will bow and kiss their asses.

I'm just wondering if this guy who just died for going to North Korea would have died on Obama's watch, boy would the Republicans be calling Obama a pussy and daring him to act. Lets see what Trump does differently. But notice us Democrats don't act like you Republicans do, pretending every incident is Trumps fault and that every move he makes is the wrong one. I mean, I want us to do that to you guys but do you notice we are not? At least not right away. I'm hoping to start it here and now.

What's Trump going to do? What did he say this morning?

"Lot of bad things happened," Trump said during a White House meeting with technology CEOs, “but at least we got him home to be with his parents."

"It's a brutal regime," Trump went on, "and we'll be able to handle it."

We'll be able to handle it? Well please Mr. Trump let us know when and how you handle it.

 

[sealybobo]

If N Korea aims nuclear weapons at the US I doubt Trump will bow and kiss their asses.

No doubt they already are and no doubt Obama already did.....

I was wondering what tough guy Trump would do if Kim Jung lobbed a missed his way. Of course we all would suspect Trump would have reacted a lot tougher than he did. You guys called Obama a pussy but what was Trump's response? Let me quote pussy Trump. All he said was "doesn't this guy have anything better to do with his time?"

Is that all Obama had to do and you would have been happy with Obama?

Or do you criticize Democrats when you don't Republicans??? Busted!

 

[waltky]

Gonna be a lotta dead fish...

What a North Korea hydrogen bomb would do to the Pacific Ocean and space stations
September 30, 2017 - Last week, North Korea’s foreign minister floated the prospect of testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean in response to President Donald Trump’s threat of “total destruction” of the Asian nation in a speech to the United Nations. Such a test, whether in the open air or underwater, would be the first of its kind in almost four decades.

But even before a hydrogen bomb test could trigger the fallout of international war, the blast would cause immediate damage to marine life and space technology like satellites and space stations. What will that look like? The full repercussions depend largely on the science of the bomb, into which we have plenty of insight thanks to the 500 or so nukes detonated above ground from 1945 to 1980. Here’s a closer look at what a hydrogen bomb could mean for sea creatures, fisheries, astronauts and even Google Earth.

“Nutmeg” nuclear test at Bikini Atoll on May 22, 1958. This surface blast was 25.1 kilotons, so 1.5 times stronger than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. North Korea’s alleged hydrogen bomb test in early September was 11 times stronger than Nutmeg.​

Scenario 1: A hydrogen bomb explosion below the Pacific Ocean surface

In some ways, the best-case scenario would be an underwater detonation of a hydrogen bomb — at a great depth, in a remote portion of the Pacific Ocean. Sure, a bubble of hot gas and a shock wave from the blast would devastate all marine life in the immediate vicinity. In July 1946, two nuclear weapons tests at Bikini Atoll — codenames Able and Baker — killed 38,000 fish, with the most extensive damage caused by Baker’s underwater detonation. But water can also limit the spread of a bomb’s radioactive emissions and stop its electromagnetic pulse (EMP), a burst of energy capable of crippling unshielded electronic devices.

The extent of a bomb’s radioactive pollution is determined by its design and also where it lands. A fission bomb, like those dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima during World War II, use uranium and plutonium to split atoms, creating a chain reaction that produces more radioactive material and generates a giant explosion. But most of the radioactive fuel in a fission bomb goes unused, meaning what’s left can enter the environment. A hydrogen bomb, by contrast, releases less radioactivity, said Nicholas S. Fisher, a marine biogeochemist at Stony Brook University. The device’s blend of fission and fusion — by combining hydrogen atoms — consumes most of its radioactive fuel. The result is a much bigger explosion. We saw this after North Korea’s alleged H-bomb test in early September. Estimates vary, but the explosive force in that test may have been up to 280 kilotons — 14 times stronger than Hiroshima.

Since 1945, more than 2,000 nuclear explosive tests have been carried out around the world.​

If a similar bomb was detonated in the Pacific Ocean, Fisher estimates the residual radioactivity would be less than what was released during the weapons testing period of the 1960s. So, what does this mean for the future of your sushi? It depends on the proximity of the fish to the detonation site. Radiation levels at Bikini Atoll and other Marshall Islands, where the U.S. tested 67 atomic bombs in the 1940s and 1950s, are nearly double what is considered safe for human habitation. Most corals survived these blasts, but 42 species became locally extinct. However, this radiation posed less danger to marine animals and fisheries farther away. “Imagine you dropped some dye in a bathtub and swirled your hand around,” said marine geochemist Ken Buesseler, who directs the Center for Marine and Environmental Radioactivity at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “At first you’d see the spot pretty clearly, and then over time it’s going to be mixed around. Less and less will show up.”

MORE

 

[mhansen2]

North Korean nuclear test tunnel collapses

200 feared dead after tunnel collapses at North Korean nuclear test site, Japanese TV claims

Guess they'll have to find another tunnel.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

North Korean nuclear test tunnel collapses

200 feared dead after tunnel collapses at North Korean nuclear test site, Japanese TV claims

Guess they'll have to find another tunnel.

Reminds me of an old joke. What is a Hobbit Mine Detector?

You grab a Hobbit, tie a long rope around his waste and throw him forward. If he lands and nothing happens, got to where he is and throw him again. BOOM!!!!! Grab another Hobbit and a new rope. Repeat as necessary.

 

[Viacheslav]

When North Korea can fit a nuclear warhead inside into an intercontinental missile, this will be a last key threshold on the path to invulnerability for Kim. And if He has a full-fledged nuclear weapon, he will even more actively blackmail World. First of all the threat will be for South Korea and Japan they will have to pay North Korea regularly for their safety.