From DefenseNews

 

Posted 10/09/06 10:35

Defiant North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test

By JACK KIM, REUTERS, SEOUL

 

North Korea said it conducted an underground nuclear test on Oct. 9, defying a warning from the U.N. Security Council and opening its crippled economy to the risk of fresh sanctions.

South Korea put its troops on heightened alert after the announcement, which came just minutes before Japanese Prime Minister Shinto Abe landed in Seoul for a visit. The move could heighten regional tension and deal a fresh foreign policy blow to U.S. President George W. Bush ahead of mid-term elections.

The White House branded the act "provocative" and said it expected the U.N. Security Council to take immediate actions.

Long Pyongyang’s chief ally, China denounced the "brazen" act, urging it to avoid action that could worsen the situation, and Russian President Vladimir Putin also condemned the test.

North Korea’s announcement pushed the dollar to an eight-month high against the yen and helped shove oil above $60 a barrel. South Korea’s won fell 1.5 percent to two-month lows and its main stock index tumbled as much as 3.6 percent.

The U.S. Geological Survey said it had detected a 4.2 magnitude tremor in North Korea at 10:35 local time (0135 GMT). The Japan Meteorological Agency said its data showed a tremor took place around Gifu, on the peninsula’s northeast coast around 110 km (70 miles) from the Chinese border.

Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said there was no leak or danger from its test.

"The nuclear test was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology 100 percent," KCNA said.

"It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the KPA (Korean People’s Army) and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability."

Analysts say North Korea probably has enough fissile material to make six to eight nuclear bombs but probably lacks the technology to devise one small enough to mount on a missile.

The chief of South Korea’s intelligence agency told lawmakers it was possible North Korea would carry out a second test, Seoul’s Yonhap news agency quoted one deputy as saying.

The lawmaker said Kim Seung-gyu, head of the National Intelligence Service, told a parliamentary committee that unusual signs had been detected at a North Korean town.

HOW BIG?

There was no consensus on the size of the North Korean blast.

A U.S. official said it could take several days for intelligence analysts to determine whether the event was the result of an unsuccessful nuclear test, a small nuclear device or a non-nuclear explosion.

"In terms of yield, we have it registering at less than four on the Richter scale. That’s the kind of thing that could be the result of several hundred tons of TNT, rather than a nuclear test," the official added.

Gary Gibson of Australia’s Seismology Research Center put it at about one kiloton, the equivalent of 1,000 tons of TNT. Russia’s RIA news agency quoted Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as saying it ranged between 5 and 15 kilotons.

The U.S. Air Force dropped a 12.5-kiloton bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945.

The U.N. Security Council urged North Korea last week not to carry out a test, warning of unspecified consequences if it did.

Speaking after Seoul talks with Japan’s Abe, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said the North’s test was a dangerous ploy that could prompt other countries to develop nuclear weapons.

The United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Pyongyang’s test threatened a global treaty to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

"This reported nuclear test threatens the nuclear non-proliferation regime and creates serious security challenges not only for the East Asian region but also for the international community," the IAEA said in a statement.

In Tokyo, reporters asked Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki if Japan, a traditional target for North Korean hostility, might now change policy and acquire atomic arms. He replied: "There is absolutely no change to Japan’s policy over nuclear weapons."

Shiozaki said there was no need for those living in Japan to worry about radioactive fallout. "It would be minimal and the effect on humans and the environment would not be a problem," he said.

The Security Council, due to meet on Oct. 9 to officially nominate South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon as next U.N. secretary-general, was likely to discuss North Korea’s move.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the North had given China a 20-minute warning of its test and Beijing had immediately alerted Washington, Tokyo and Seoul.

Seoul and Beijing -- leery of instability on the Korea peninsula -- have previously cautioned against backing the North into a corner, while Tokyo favors a hard line towards Pyongyang.

However, all three agree Pyongyang should end its 11-month boycott of six-nation talks on ending its nuclear arms program.

North Korea announced last week its intention to test a nuclear device, saying its hand had been forced by what it called U.S. threats of nuclear war and economic sanctions. But it said it would not be the first to use a nuclear weapon.

From Jane's Defence Weekly

 

North Korea claims nuclear test

By Joseph Bermudez Jr JDW Correspondent

Colorado

 

Initial South Korean Ministry of Defence and National Intelligence Service reports indicated that a 3.58-3.7-magnitude blast was detected emanating from a North Korean nuclear test at 10.36 am local time (01:36 GMT). Subsequent reports from the US Geological Survey (USGS) place the magnitude of the tremor at 4.2 on the Richter scale. The difference in the reports is due to the fact that the USGS assessment, being somewhat later, was able to incorporate a larger number of sensor reports in its preparation.

 

The USGS data identifies the time and location of the blast as 9 October at 01:35:27 (GMT) and centred at 41.311—N, 129.114—E at a depth 0-1 km. This places the site approximately 42 km northwest of Kilchu, in the province of North Hamgyong, on the remote slopes of Mant'ap-san Mountain. This coincides with reports that first appeared during 2005 of suspicious tunnelling and construction activities in the area. Subsequent reports during the past month indicate that the North Koreans had excavated a 700 m-long horizontal tunnel under Mant'ap-san.

 

Although details are tentative, initial and unconfirmed South Korean reports indicate that the test was a fission device with a yield of .55 kT. By comparison the nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima yielded approximately 12.5 kT. The figure of .55 kT, however, seems too low given the 4.2 register on the Richter scale. This could suggest - depending upon the geological make-up of the test site - a yield of 2-12 kT. If, however, the lower yield is correct, it would suggest that the test had been a "pre- or post-detonation" event (ie a failure), as it had been anticipated that North Korea's first nuclear test would have a significantly higher yield.