http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061009/wl_n...orth_dc_25
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->SEOUL (Reuters) -
North Korea carried out an underground nuclear test on Monday, North Korea's Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
"Our science research section has safely and successfully conducted an underground nuclear test on October 9," it said.
It added that there was no leak or danger from the test.
South Korea's presidential Blue House said a tremor had been detected in North Korea on Monday.
It said South Korea's Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources had detected a tremor of a magnitude 3.58 to 3.7 at 0135 GMT.
Officials in neighboring Japan and China had no immediate comment on the reports.
North Korea announced last week it would test a nuclear device saying its hand was 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. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Dang, they did it before anyone had a chance to "bring democracy" to their shores.
In TSP, focus goes back on the Xerox Khan. More begging opportunity for gola CEO.
The timing of the new UN SG coming from South Korea and these tests in NK seems too much of coincidence. Wonder as to how it'll play out.
Next will be Iran
China gave nice gift to US. <!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Geologists record 4.2 magnitude quake in area.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, refused to discuss the outcome of the vote, but said: "I think it was sufficiently clear that all members of the council agreed to move to a formal vote on Monday night," he said. The announcement would be made Tuesday, he said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Story Highlight
⢠<b>North Korea says it has successfully carried out underground nuclear test
⢠Pentagon is working to confirm the test
⢠Japan sets up task force to assess the situation
⢠South Korean stocks plunge on reports of North Korean test </b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Link
Clinton and Halfbright policies are paying dividend. <!--emo& --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061009/wl_nm/...orth_china_dc_1
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Monday it firmly opposed
North Korea's nuclear test, denouncing it as "brazen" in unusually strong language, and demanded Pyongyang stop any action that could worsen the situation.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What would be most interesting to me atleast is the situation in SoKo. Will we see stronger calls for reunification ? Who will dominate this reunification drives ? The WASP controlled church or the Korean nationalists ? PRC and US will duke it out here.
Timing is interesting, they tested long distance missile on 4th of July and now nuke test on Columbus Day.
China's action will tell who is the "World Daddy"?
Not sure whether China will agree for sanctions. US may press for naval blockage. I don't think that will work because land route with China is open.
<!--emo&:blow--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blow.gif' /><!--endemo--> A very interesting survey is going on at TOI
'Is North Korea danger to india?'
Let us c what members have to say on this?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'Is North Korea danger to india?'<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
They are, because Mad man will sell his new jewel to Islamist just to irritate US. But as we know these Islamist first test thier weapons on Indians.
So get ready for new style with new range of destruction.
But don't know what can change North Korea course.
<!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> and c how it has started pinching India's pocket:
Rupee weakens after N Korea's nuke test
[ 9 Oct, 2006 1214hrs ISTPTI ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates
MUMBAI: After last weekend's smart rally, the rupee on Monday resumed weak against US dollar following the news of North Korea's nuclear test as well as stronger dollar overseas.
In lacklustre trade at the interbank foreign exchange (forex) market, the Indian unit resumed lower at Rs 45.67/68 per dollar from Friday's close of Rs 45.58/59 per dollar and later ruled steady at the opening levels.
The rupee began weak as news of North Korea's nuclear test had a negative impact on Asian markets, a forex dealer said adding that "activity was very low during early trade".
In overseas market, the dollar shot to multi-month peaks against major rivals on Friday, on the back of employment data that some analysts opined might help dissuade the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates, a move that generally weakens the greenback.
time.com
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>North Korea Calls the U.S. Bluff </b>
Washington has said it won't tolerate a North Korean nuclear weapon. Now, the question is whether that intolerance can be enforced
By TONY KARON
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHOR
Posted Monday, Oct. 09, 2006
So, now what?
<b>North Korea's announcement of a successful underground detonation of a nuclear weapon has called Washington's bluff. President Bush had long warned that the U.S. will not "tolerate" a nuclear-armed North Korea, and just last week his chief negotiator with the hermit regime, Christopher Hill, warned that Pyongyang would have to choose between having nuclear weapons and having a future. Monday morning's announced test suggests that Kim Jong-il has decided to test Washington's "or else." </b>
The consternation at failing to deter North Korea from becoming the world's eighth declared nuclear weapons state (joining the U.S., Russia, France, Britain, China, India and Pakistan â Israel is generally believed to have nuclear weapons, although it has never publicly disclosed such capability) will hardly be confined to Washington. South Korea has called its national security council into emergency session, and will face pressure from the U.S. and Japan to terminate its "Sunshine" policy of trade and engagement aimed at moderating North Korean behavior. Japan, well within range of North Korea's missiles and a longtime object of its ire, will press for a tough response, and may see its own debate over whether to build nuclear weapons rejoined with new vigor. China will face the uncomfortable reality that its patronage of and friendship with North Korea gave it no leverage, at the decisive moment, over a troublesome neighbor whose actions threaten to destabilize the entire region and provoke a more assertive U.S. presence on turf that Beijing regards as its own back yard.
As much as the international community was unanimous in warning the North Koreans against proceeding â the U.N. Security Council on Friday warned that a nuclear test would be treated as a threat to global peace, language that could open the way for binding sanctions or even tougher action â the next steps remain unclear, and potentially divisive. The U.S. and Japan will likely push for harsh sanctions, to back a demand that North Korea submit to denuclearization under international supervision. China and South Korea will likely back the principle that North Korea must be punished for crossing a red line, but their aversion to sanctions is based on fears of potentially cataclysmic chaos accompanying the collapse of the regime in Pyongyang, and those fears won't have been eased by the regime demonstrating a capacity to lash out with nuclear weapons if it is being choked to death. Given North Korea's huge standing army and the vulnerability of South Korea to its conventional artillery and missile capability â as well as the extent of U.S. commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan â any military response remains unlikely.
North Korea's test will alter the tenses and grammar of the international community's demands, from insisting that North Korea refrain from developing and testing nuclear weapons to insisting that it reverse course and agree to denuclearize under international supervision. Those demands will likely now be backed by tougher sanctions, although the extent of likely sanctions is uncertain because the factors restraining neighbors from choking North Korea's food and energy lifeblood remain in place. And North Korea clearly sees its nuclear test not as ending the discussion, but rather as a way of strengthening its negotiating position: Its statement last week announcing the forthcoming test stressed that North Korea refused to disarm unilaterally, but remained committed to a dialogue "aimed at settling the hostile relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and removing the very source of all nuclear threats from the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity." It added that North Korea remained committed to achieve "the denuclearization of the peninsula through dialogue and negotiation."
<b>Shortly before the nuclear test, CNN had reported that North Korea had indicated to China that it might be prepared to hold off on testing a weapon if the U.S. agreed to direct talks</b>. Presumably, Pyongyang will continue to pursue that diplomatic goal, hoping that the crisis it has created by testing a nuclear weapon will bring pressure on the U.S. to abandon its own refusal to deal directly with North Korea. Until now, China and South Korea, in particular, have urged the United States to engage in such a dialogue. It remains to be seen whether the nuke test changes their stance.
North Korea may be hoping that, as in the case of India and Pakistan, an initial flurry of diplomatic scolding will eventually be followed by the international community resignedly engaging with a new member of the nuclear club for want of any other alternative. U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill has tried to disabuse them of that expectation, telling the New York Times last week, "this ain't Pakistan." Whether the U.S. can make it so, however, will depend, in large part, on the positions taken by South Korea and China in the weeks ahead.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
[EDITORIAL]<b>What N.K. can expect </b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->.................
Seoul and its allies should immediately start fresh consultations on what action they should take against Pyongyang now that it crossed the line from making threats to actually playing with the dangerous weapon. The U.N. Security Council's presidential statement issued on Friday said broadly that the council "will act consistent with its responsibility" under the U.N. Charter. Council President Kenzo Oshima of Japan explained that North Korea could face sanctions or possible military action under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter which outlines the actions the council can take to deal with threats to international peace.
But any tough Security Council action, including military options such as a blockade, would most likely face a veto from Russia or China, whose geopolitical positions make them hesitant to join any operation that would be considered hostile by their former military ally. So it will be squarely on the shoulders of South Korea, the United States and Japan to explore individual and collective measures against North Korea.
Of the three nations, South Korea comes under pressure to take the first direct action against the North. Over nearly a decade of implementing an engagement policy toward the North, Seoul has been the biggest donor. Once the recipient shook the peninsula with a nuclear blast and broke a military equilibrium in the region, there is no sense of continuing humanitarian and economic aid to it.
First, the Mt. Geumgang tourism project which gives $150 to the North for every South Korean visiting the resort north of the border should be brought to a halt, eight years after it opened as the symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. Investment in the Gaeseong Industrial Park should be discontinued, and all South Korean businesses be withdrawn. Losses to individual firms may be compensated from the government's South-North Cooperation Fund.
An estimated 2 trillion won (about $2 billion) worth of aid has been delivered to the North under the engagement policy which had two major justifications - to prevent a new war on the peninsula and prevent the collapse of the North, an event that would cause an unbearable economic and social impact on the South. A nuclear-armed North Korea dismisses these reasons. It says it needs nuclear arms for self-defense, but their concept of self-defense is nothing less than holding Seoul hostage in the event of an external invasion.
<b>Seoul now has two options. One is continued aid to the North, which will lead to perceptions that the South has caved in to nuclear blackmail; the other is resolutely ending the engagement policy and readying itself for any eventuality. For its part, North Korea as a nuclear power will find it even more difficult to survive under deepening international isolation leading to severer poverty, and the constant threat of a possible preemptive attack</b>.
Kim Jong-il still has the chance to prevent a worsening of the crisis by returning to the Six-Party Talks and restarting denuclearization negotiations with the four neighbors and the United States. But he will soon find that joining the nuclear club with a few rudimentary atomic bombs does not improve the regime's lot at all.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The timing of North Korea's test is certain to increase speculation that North Korea wanted to express its displeasure and opposition to Ban's selection as the Security Council's candidate to succeed Kofi Annan.
<b>Ban has said in the past that one of his first acts would be to go to North Korea.</b>
link
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Don't forget, this decade Peace award goes to Xerox Khan and Mushy
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>NKorea test will have fallout for India: Experts </b>
Pioneer.com
Agencies | New Delhi
The nuclear test by North Korea will have "serious" implications for India, former diplomats feel, with one of them blaming the US and its western allies for adopting "very soft" approach towards the clandestine axis of atomic cooperation between Pakistan, China and North Korea.
<b>"On the basis of information available so far, it (North Korea's test) seems to be like Pakistan's nuclear capability which is based on clandestine procurement of nuclear technology,"</b> former Foreign Secretary Shashank said when contacted by PTI.
Shashank said this will have implications for India, which must take up the issue with the International Atomic Energy Agency <b>(IAEA) and ask it to ascertain how this clandestine programme materialised and whether it was with the help of the A Q Khan network emanating from Pakistan for blackmarket of nuclear technology</b>.
Former Indian Ambassador to Washington Naresh Chandra regretted that the US and other western powers did not seriously take note of the trade-off between Pakistan providing Pyongyang nuclear technology in return for ballistic missiles from North Korea.
He said<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> all this has happened because the US and its western allies had taken a very soft and casual approach to the clandestine link among China, Pakistan and North Korea on nuclear proliferation. </span>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Nuclear weapons: Who owns what </b>
If, as expected, North Korea's claims to have tested a nuclear weapon are proved true, it will have become the ninth country to possess nuclear arms. All nine keep the exact details of their weapons programmes secret, but analysts have been able to estimate the size of their nuclear arsenals
<span style='color:red'>North Korea
Believed to have enough nuclear material for about half-a-dozen weapons, but estimates vary widely and are unverifiable.
The United States
More than 5,000 strategic warheads (powerful bombs to be fired long distances), and more than 1,000 operational tactical weapons (less powerful, and meant for more close-range battlefield use) Approximately 3,000 reserve warheads.
Russia
Nearly 5,000 strategic warheads, and approximately 3,500 operational tactical warheads. More than 11,000 other warheads in storage. Exploded its first bomb in 1949.
France
Approximately 350 strategic warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1960.
China
As many as 250 strategic warheads and 150 tactical warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1964.
Britain
About 200 strategic warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1952.
India
Between 45 and 95 nuclear warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1974.
Pakistan
Between 30 and 50 nuclear warheads. Exploded its first bomb in 1998.
Israel
Refuses to confirm that it has nuclear weapons, but is generally assumed to have up to 200 nuclear warheads. Unknown when it may have carried out a test explosion.</span>
- (Courtesy: The Daily Telegraph)
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>NKorea's nuke test more fizz than pop: US </b>
Pioneer.com
Agencies | Washington
US intelligence agencies have questioned the veracity of North Korea's claims on a successful nuclear test saying that the underground blast was "more fizz than pop".
It is said that elements of the blast have been detected by American and allied sleuths as it was set off in an underground tunnel in north-central North Korea with the US intelligence agencies monitoring several such tunnels and cannot rule out another test.
Based on preliminary tip-offs American intelligence agencies are not convinced that North Korea carried out its first nuclear test yesterday with officials asserting that conventional high explosives used to create a chain of reactions in a plutonium based device did in fact go off but that the readings were short of a typical nuclear detonation.
"We are still evaluating the data, and as more data comes in, we hope to develop a clearer picture," an official "familiar with intelligence reports" has told The Washington Times.
<b>"There was a seismic event that registered about 4 on the Richter scale, but it still is not clear if it was a nuclear test. You can get that kind of seismic reading from high explosives." The official said the Pyongyang test was believed to have been equivalent of several hundred tons of TNT but far short of the several thousand tons of TNT, or kilotons, that are signs of a nuclear blast. The assessment so far has been that the test was "more fizz than pop." The White House has already made it clear that it will be several days before it is precisely calculated what took place in North Korea yesterday.</b>
The White House has already made it clear that it will require several days time to calculate what actually occurred in North Korea on 9th October.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Same they said about India's test but praised Paki test.
<!--emo& --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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