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N. Korea nuclear test: Happened or not?

Security Council imposes sanctions on N. Korea for nuclear test last week. However, no official source confirms test ever occurred

A week after the reported nuclear test and after the UN Security Council has voted on military and economic sanctions of North Korea, there is still no independent confirmation from Japan, S. Korea, or any other official western source, that the test actually took place. There are witnesses, however, who assert that the test was either non nuclear, or it has failed.

 

Last Monday North Korea had announced it has successfully conducted a nuclear test. Experts in the N. Korea supposedly did all they could to conceal the opening of the shaft where the test was being conducted to prevent western intelligence agencies from gathering information from the air. After the test, a Russian source said that the test was indeed nuclear, but was of low magnitude.

 

As of the end of last week, that was the only independent confirmation that the test actually took place. American intelligence sources said on Saturday that air sample taken over the area contained radioactive material consistent with underground nuclear tests.

 

Hints, but with no confirmation

Immediately after the test, western experts concluded that it was indeed a nuclear test after unusual seismic activity was recorded northeast of the capital Pyongyang. The experts, however were not in complete agreement and were not able to arrive at an unequivocal conclusion if the activity was related to a nuclear test.

 

In addition, several experts said last week that the test had either failed, or had not been a nuclear test, but only a conventional explosion. The New York Times had reported last week that an underground nuclear test usually carries a magnitude of 10 to 60 kilotons, whereas the latest test was only 1 kiloton or less in magnitude, based on the seismic readings.

 

The Washington Times claims that that the seismic readings indicate a conventional blast of TNT which was supposed to initiate a chain reaction to blow up plutonium, but that did not succeed. Intelligence sources told the paper that the blast had caused an earth tremor of 4 on the Richter scale which could have been caused by a conventional blast and it is unclear if the test had indeed been nuclear.

 

The French Defense Minister this week doubted the credibility of the N. Korean regime and said the test had failed or was not nuclear after all. However the New York Times had quoted experts who said that it is unlikely that N. Korea had fabricated a nuclear test, knowing that the US and other countries are constantly monitoring their activities using satellites. The US as well as Japan have the capability to collect air and water samples for radioactive materials.

 

After the test, Japan had launched planes over the sea dividing the two countries to take air samples for unusual radioactive material and had returned with no unusual findings. A spokesperson for the S. Korean President said that his country has no evidence that the test actually took place.

 


פרסום ראשון: 10.15.06, 20:07
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