Pre-nuclear blasts in N Korea

[chomskyite2]

Pre-nuclear blasts in N Korea
By Mark Riley and Tom Allard and agencies
July 10 2003

North Korea has conducted 70 high-explosive tests linked to nuclear weapons development, South Korea's spy chief was quoted as saying last night.

The claim was made just hours after the Prime Minister, John Howard, began reining in Australia's tough talk on North Korea, amid warnings that military threats could provoke a nuclear confrontation.

A senior source in Seoul said that Ko Young-Koo, a National Intelligence Service director, had told parliament: 'We have also noticed high-explosive tests being conducted in Yongdok district in Gusong City in North Pyongyang and we have been keeping track of the movement."

He also said that North Korea had apparently begun reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods, a program that could yield enough plutonium for half-a-dozen atomic bombs within months.

Conventional high explosives are used to trigger atomic blasts. When detonated, they can compress a plutonium core and set off a compact nuclear blast.

more...

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/09/1057430281780.html

also...related:

S. Korea: North Advancing Nuclear Program
Thursday July 10, 2003 12:19 AM
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea said Wednesday the communist North has reprocessed a small number of spent nuclear fuel rods, an important step in making weapons. The report came as North Korean envoys warned that the ``black clouds of a nuclear war'' are approaching.

The developments are likely to escalate the crisis over North Korea's suspected development of nuclear weapons.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service said in a report to the National Assembly that it believed North Korea has reprocessed ``a small portion'' of the 8,000 spent fuel rods at its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2889884,00.html

[oneighty]

1. Bull shit folks.

one high explosion is just like any other. No way can

one tell the puropse of a high order explosion by the sound or by any

vibration of the earth.

More BS from the high command.

180

[Trek234]

2. Hmmm

Unless they were delivered with a message claiming that's what they were.

[oneighty]

4. Agreed trek234

The purpose of an explosion is guess work, an eyewitness

to information is certainly better if true.

180

[FlashHarry]

3. I, for one, don't doubt it.

Jesus, Kim has been stamping his nuclear feet for two years and Bush has done nothing! Kim could nuke NYC and the admin. would blame Saddam. This is some scary shit. And now, thanks to the Shrub, if we claim that we have "evidence" of NK as an "imminent" nuclear threat, most of the world won't believe us.

Thanks, Chimp.