Is That All Ya Got? - CSIS Takes a Stab at Meaning of N. Korean Test

Unwilling to say for sure whether they believe North Korea has even tested an atomic bomb, The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC released a report today that explores the ramifications and possible meanings of the alleged blast.

So far, the only source attempting to establish a yield seems be Park Chang-soo, spokesman at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, a state-run South Korean geological institute, which AP says stated that the magnitude of the tremor could indicate the test was equivalent to the force of 550 tons of TNT.
It is far from clear that this is a reliable source, and statements referring to a "550 ton" yield seems too precise and too early in calling for such a small yield to allow immediate verification.

It should be noted that the weapon the United States dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on Aug. 6, 1945, was equivalent to 11,000- 15,000 tons of TNT.

It goes on to report that it is possible this was a test of "material that is highly enriched but short of true weapons grade."

In my previous post, I wondered at the implications for our upcoming elections here in the US. The CSIS report also speculates on this possibility.

North Korea Makes Monday Morning Worse

As though it weren't bad enough that millions of people around the world have to get up early this Monday, put the freedom and relaxation of the weekend behind them, and place noses against grindstones. Now, it appears as though the world "will be entering a new, dangerous nuclear age," according to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Would you like your coffee with a splash of paranoia and uncertainty?

This morning the United States Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 4.2 earthquake about 40 miles north of Kimchaek, North Korea. The official Korean Central News Agency announced that the nuclear test that caused the earthquake "was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology, 100 percent." Not only a literaly earth-shaking event, but leaders from all over are shaking with barely contained outrage that North Korea would be so bold as to continue nuclear testing after they've all politely (or not so politely) asked it not to. North Korea joins the vaunted ranks of the United States, Russia, France, China, Britain, India and Pakistan, countries that all possesses nuclear technology. Welcome, folks.

According to Japan's Manichi Daily News,

"North Korea is believed to have used plutonium from its Yongbyon reactor. North Korea started operating Yongbyon in January 1986 and began developing nuclear weapons. From 1989, it began reprocessing nuclear rods, producing about 6 to 12 kilos of plutonium, or enough for one to two nuclear weapons.

An agreement with the United States in October 1994 shut down Yongbyong, but North Korea announced in 2003 that it had pulled out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It started up Yongbyong once again, removing 8,000 rods for re-processing into plutonium at different stages in October 2003 and again in March 2005."

Now, it remains to be seen whether this swings U.S. voters back to the Republicans. The GOP has consistently tried to link its candidates with security while painting the Democrats as lax on that front. However, recently the Mark Foley scandal convinced many that the Republican Party is not the party of values they thought it was. Will even an atomic blast be able to muffle the cries of "think of the children!" issuing from the nation's heartland?