Xythe

Join Date 12/2001

Seismic Activity Confirms North Korean Nuke Test

One Step Closer to Disaster

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I studied Geology in college, and live in California, so naturally I get direct feeds showing recent world wide seismic activity from the USGS. First thing in the morning I check this feed, and noticed an event in North Korea, not a very common place for recent earthquakes. Link Then as news began to pour out over this particular event, the facts became known to me.

At 01:35:27 (UTC) today, the USGS reported a seismic event measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale in the region of North Korea. Link

The USGS later reports the activity as being, “shallow event or very close to the surface”.

The Korean Earthquake Research Centre in Daejeon, reported this event took place 10 miles northwest of Hwadaeri.

Shortly after this siesmicity was recorded, North Korea announced it’s first nuclear test.

One Korean news person comments, "It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the (North Korean army) and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defence capability."

Abe also mentions that Japan and the United States would step up work on a missile defense system, and called for tough U.N. action.

The US imposed sanctions on North Korea today banning military and luxury items, freezing military weapons programs assets, and to inspect all cargo coming to and from the country.

A Security Counsil says that taking military action is far from anybodies mind.

The entire AP article can be read from the Comcast news page by clicking the link below.

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I find it hard to believe that a country as relatively small as N. Korea has an uninhabited area large enough to conduct such a test. This is the part that really makes we wonder. But then I don't really know all that much about N. Korean geography.

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But then I don't really know all that much about N. Korean geography.

I was wondering about that as well.

heres a couple of links for those that want to explore this a bit more:

Link and Link

I dont mind exploring this further if anybody cares to.

The actual cooridinants of this event are mentioned here>

Link

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Ok, I'm no expert but is 40 miles from a city a safe distance for this sort of thing?

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The Koreans report that there is no radioactive fallout resulting from this event.

They also fail to mention the size of this device.

Honestly, I'm not skilled enough in nuclear physics to even guess, but my gut instinct tells me that no atom bomb could be discharged within 40 miles of a city, and not show any signs of radioactive fallout unless it was done so underground.

Yet, the USGS reports the seismic event at the surface. Just how percise that is? I cant say.

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I feel certain that it was likely an underground test but still, 40 miles???

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I feel certain that it was likely an underground test but still, 40 miles???

Its hard to say.

What was the size of the bomb.
How deep was it detonated?
What were the materials composed of that the bomb went off in?
What do the local people report?

These are the questions I ask myself.

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I feel certain that it was likely an underground test but still, 40 miles???

Something tells me tthat the North Koreans probably don't worry about such things as radiation sickness to their own people and enviromental damage and whatnot. But who knows, maybe they do...

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What do the local people report?

Ummm, probably not much at this point.

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Something tells me tthat the North Koreans probably don't worry about such things as radiation sickness to their own people and enviromental damage and whatnot. But who knows, maybe they do...

I suspect they don't. Just that many fewer starving citizens.

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Ummm, probably not much at this point.

Not anything new that I have seen. Not that I expect much in the way of facts. Intelligence reports will be in soon.

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Something tells me tthat the North Koreans probably don't worry about such things as radiation sickness to their own people and enviromental damage and whatnot. But who knows, maybe they do...

Im certain the people do. Their government on the other hand may be a different matter altogether.

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cactoblasta

Join Date 04/2004

+48

Underground tests are reasonably safe. There's some possibility of genetic abnormalities but most of the fallout should be contained. It is possible to see a nuclear test and survive - most of the observers of British and American tests in the 50s survived to reproduce without any real problems. Many of them observed surface tests from a much closer range.

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most of the observers of British and American tests in the 50s survived to reproduce without any real problems.

Except that faint glow in the dark effect.

As for fallout over there, any country that starves their citizens is not going to worry about a little fall out.

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There isn't much in the way of fallout from an underground test but the area itself is poisoned for a great many years. I was actually thinking more about the effect on ground water.

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There isn't much in the way of fallout from an underground test but the area itself is poisoned for a great many years. I was actually thinking more about the effect on ground water.

I really dont think we can draw much in the way of conclusions until we hear more actual details concerning the conditions of both the device as well as the test site itself.

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Island Dog

Join Date 06/2003

+1051

It is still not confirmed that a nuclear test was performed. I am reading many analysts who believe this was not a nuclear test.

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It is still not confirmed that a nuclear test was performed. I am reading many analysts who believe this was not a nuclear test.

I have read this as well.

So far, some particulars are :

"It could be a fake," Orcutt said of the North Korean explosion, "but it’s probably not."

North Korea’s provocative weapons test Monday was either an unusually small nuclear bomb, only partially successful, or possibly even a faked test done with conventional explosives, say seismologists studying the latest freely available seismic data from South Korea and China.

The North Korean test looks to have released the equivalent of between 0.5 and 2 kilotons of TNT, according to a U.S. government scientist who asked not to be identified. For comparison, the U.S. atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945 released the explosive equivalent of 13 kilotons of TNT.

The three most likely explanations for the low yield are 1) that it was a very small nuclear bomb, 2) that it was a larger bomb that only partially detonated or 3) that it was not a nuclear weapon at all, but a large amount of conventional explosives set off to imitate a small nuclear blast.

The only official word so far on that subject is from the North Korean government in Pyongyang, which has declared a successful nuclear test.

Source: Link

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Something tells me tthat the North Koreans probably don't worry about such things as radiation sickness to their own people and enviromental damage and whatnot. But who knows, maybe they do...

Why would they worry about it, they control everything within the country, and could probably find some way to spin that into being the result of foreign interference.

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Why would they worry about it, they control everything within the country, and could probably find some way to spin that into being the result of foreign interference.

If they did not care, their would be nobody to govern.

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