North Korea Prepping for Underground Nuke Test

[Sean Osborne]

http://www.india-defence.com/print/2371



North Korea preparing for underground nuclear test

Dated 19/8/2006


According to Reuters North Korea may be preparing for an underground nuclear test. US Intelligence have been quoted as saying they have observed suspicious vehicle movement at a suspected nuclear site.

The activity included the unloading of large reels of cable outside P'unggye-yok, an underground facility in northeast North Korea.

North Korea, though, believed to have enough nuclear material to build as many as a dozen nuclear bombs, has never tested one. A successful test would remove any doubt that North Korea is a nuclear power.

Earlier this year, symbolically on the 4th of July, the Day of American Independence, North Korea conducted seven ballistic missile tests, which provoked immediate international condemnation.
>>

[Rick Donaldson]

Pictures posted in the 2 missiles thread.

Rick

[Ryan Ruck]

South Korean Government on Alert to Monitor Signs of North Korean Nuclear Test '24 Hours a Day'

A military monitoring team dispatched to the Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources. A few additional monitoring stations set up and in operation along DMZ.

The government and military authorities went into all-out monitoring of N. Korean nuclear test because the chance of N. Korea going ahead with the test shot up after N. Korea launched missiles on July 5, and UN passed resolution against N. Korea.

A government source said in Aug. 20, "6-party talks on N. Korean nuke is still in deadlock. After the missile launches, it is our view that there are higher chances than ever that N. Korea would go ahead with underground nuclear test. We are in airtight monitoring 24 hour a day."

According to the source, the government is conducting its monitoring through Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources, located at Daeduk Research Park in Taejon, which is a seismic activity monitoring institute under Ministry of Science and Technology.

In particular, in a rare top secret move, six soldiers were recently assigned to the Institute for monitoring duty of the N. Korean test. Military used to have little reason for dispatching soldiers to the Institute.

The soldiers dispatched all majored in Natural Resource Engineering or Geology before they were drafted for military service. They were screened and selected in accordance with the requirements. For now, they are assigned to the Institute until early Nov..

It said, "As far as I know, it is not the Institute which requested the dispatch of the soldiers. It was decided on the government level."

Their dispatch was a decision by the government and it went through Joint Chief of Staffs and Ministry of Defense.

It went on, "Soldiers do not play a critical role in the monitoring. Rather their presence is to ensure 24-hour monitoring. They are basically on watch duty."

Since the soldiers would be discharged after completing their (preset period of) service, it would be difficult to continue the monitoring uninterrupted. For that reason, the Institute made a separate request to the government.

S. Korea joined Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty(CTBT), and conducts its monitoring of N. Korean nuclear test at Wonju Seismic Monitoring Station(KSRS.)

In addition, it is said that a few additional monitoring stations are set up along DMZ and in operation.

A government official, regarding Aug. 17 U.S. report of possible N. Korean nuclear test, said, "After the UN resolution in response to the missile launches, N. Korea said that they are readying 'a more powerful stuff.' The logical possibility (of N. Korean nuclear test) prompted us to do the monitoring."

Another official emphasized, "When N. Korea said it will show something bigger last month upon their missile launches, it meant nuclear test. We find it quite possible, and stepped up our monitoring. It will continue to be a possibility."

N. Korea warned, on July 6, right after missile launches, and on July 16, after the UN resolution was passed, "Any attempt to pressure us will compel us to take much stronger physical action."

[Sean Osborne]

Any North Korean nuke test is a defacto Iranian nuke test, just as the multiple missile tests of July 4/5 2006 were. Iran funds and sponsors the North Korean nuclear weapons program.

I expect a North Korean nuke test to be concurrent with an Iranian announcement in the next day or so concerning it's own "nuclear breakthrough".

[Rick Donaldson]

Japan Sees Activity at N. Korean Nuke Test Site
Thursday, August 24, 2006

TOKYO — Japan has confirmed vehicle activity at a North Korean nuclear testing site, but it was unclear whether tests were imminent, a news report said Thursday.


Vehicles have been seen entering and leaving a nuclear testing site in the northeast of the country, Kyodo News agency reported, quoting an unnamed government official.


It was unclear whether any nuclear tests by the North were imminent, but Japan will continue to closely monitor the situation, the official was quoted as saying.
A Foreign Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protocol, said Japan was continuously analyzing intelligence but said the government would not discuss specifics because of the sensitivity of the matter.


A news report last week that U.S. officials were monitoring potentially suspicious activity at a suspected underground nuclear site sent diplomats in the region scrambling to avert a possible test and get Pyongyang to return to multinational talks on its nuclear ambitions.

[Ryan Ruck]

North Korea: A Seismic Event Detected Yesterday Afternoon (8/25)

Yesterday at 4:50 pm, there was a seismic event in N. Korea, registering 2.3 in Richter Scale, which prompted authorities to figure out its nature.

According to Korean Meteorological Administration, its source was found to be to the North-Northwest of Yeonchon, Kyunggi Province, and 49km away(approx. 30 miles.) It is at the border area between Hwang-hae Province and Kangwon Province.

After analyzing the seismic wave of the event, Korean Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources reached the conclusion that it could be the result of routine demolition activity by setting off TNT underground.

[Ryan Ruck]

Big Bang In The North, But Not A Nuclear Test

A minor explosion caused a small man-made earthquake in North Korea on Friday, but it was not a nuclear test, the Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources said. "At 4 p.m. on Friday, we sensed an artificial earthquake wave which seemed to originate from near Pangyo, in the North's Gangwon province, but it has absolutely nothing to do with a North Korean nuclear test," an official at the institute said in a telephone interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on Saturday. "If the North conducted a nuclear test, our center would have sensed an earthquake wave of a magnitude above 4.0 on the Richter scale. The earthquake's magnitude was around 2.0, which can be created when two tons of TNT are exploded," the official said.

He said such man-made earthquakes have occasionally occurred in the North. "A lot of construction has reportedly been going on in Pangyo," he said. The institute operates earthquake watch centers nationwide. Kang Il-bum, a researcher at the institute, said, "If North Korea had conducted a secret underground nuclear test, radars established by the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons would have detected it."

[Sean Osborne]

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,217237,00.html

North Korea Plans to Conduct Nuclear Test Tuesday , October 03, 2006 SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Tuesday it will conduct a nuclear test in the face of what it claimed was "the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war," ratcheting up tensions amid international pressure to return to negotiations on its atomic program. The United States said it would raise the latest statement in a U.N. Security Council meeting, and South Korea raised its security level. "The government has taken measures to strengthen the security level in relation to the North Korea nuclear test, and has begun discussions with related countries," South Korea's presidential office said in a statement after an emergency meeting. The statement from Pyongyang gave no precise date as to when a test might occur. "The DPRK will in the future conduct a nuclear test in a condition where safety is firmly guaranteed," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, using its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. CountryWatch: North Korea In an early-morning interview with The Associated Press, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said the U.S. would bring up North Korea's statement for discussion Tuesday morning in a regular meeting of the U.N. Security Council. "A nuclear test by North Korea would be extraordinarily serious," Bolton said. "The threat is serious enough that we're certainly going to take this action in the council this morning, by raising it." Pyongyang has said it has nuclear weapons, but has not conducted any known test to prove its claim. South Korea's spy agency has said the North could test a nuclear bomb at any time. "The U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a self-defense measure in response," said the statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. China, North Korea's neighbor, ally and chief benefactor, had no immediate comment. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso called the North's nuclear test plans "totally unforgivable," and said Japan would react "sternly" if the North conducted the tests, according to Kyodo News agency. In Finland, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said such a test "is always bad news." Multilateral talks on North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled for almost a year, with Pyongyang boycotting the six-nation talks in protest over U.S. financial restrictions imposed for its alleged illegal activity, including money laundering and counterfeiting. Efforts to bring the North back to negotiations have taken on added urgency after the communist nation test-fired seven missiles in July, including one believed to be capable of reaching the United States. Reports have also suggested the North might conduct a nuclear test, citing suspicious activity at a possible underground test site. Many experts believe the North has enough radioactive material to build at least a half-dozen or more nuclear weapons. The North said Tuesday its ultimate goal is "to settle hostile relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and to remove the very source of all nuclear threats from the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity," accusing the U.S. of posing a nuclear threat in the region. The North, however, said it will "never use nuclear weapons first and strictly prohibit any threat of nuclear weapons and nuclear transfer." Charles Kartman, who was the lead negotiator with North Korea under the Clinton administration, said last week that North Korea had few other options than saber-rattling. "If they feel they are not getting interaction with us, they tend to do things to get our attention. And the tools that they have are all bad ones," he said. "The missiles, the nuclear program, the military."

[Rick Donaldson]

N.Korea atom test would be "unacceptable"-Japan PM
03 Oct 2006 10:43:35 GMT
Source: Reuters

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TOKYO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Any North Korean nuclear test would be "unacceptable" and the international community would respond "harshly", Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday, after Pyongyang said it would conduct a test in the future. Abe also said North Korea needed to realise that its situation would only worsen if it failed to respond to international concerns about its missile and nuclear programmes.

AlertNet news is provided by

[Rick Donaldson]

http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=36153

World alarm as N Korea threatens nuclear test

LONDON –– World leaders reacted with alarm Tuesday at news that North Korea plans to carry out a nuclear test, warning it could have serious consequences for the impoverished hermit nation.

"A missile test launch would be viewed by the United Kingdom and the rest of the international community as a highly provocative act with serious consequences for the DPRK," said a spokesman for the British Foreign Office.

"It would raise tensions in an already tense region," he added. Pyongyang said Tuesday that it intended to carry out a test of nuclear weapons in response to threats and sanctions from the United States which it said was trying to topple the communist nation.

"The US extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK (North Korea) to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a corresponding measure," it said.

The statement, issued by the foreign ministry, gave no time or date for the test, which if carried out would be the first anywhere in the world since 1998.

Japan was first to respond to the announcement, with Foreign Minister Taro Aso denouncing the idea as unforgivable. "It would be a threat to peace. We would never be able to forgive such a move," Aso told reporters. "It would gravely affect Northeast Asia, including Japan."

Aso said he did not doubt North Korea's resolve in testing a nuclear device. "In the past, the country has done what it had said earlier. So I think it would be wrong automatically to think the country will not do this."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also urged North Korea to be cautious, calling on the US to engage in one-on-one negotiations with North Korea to resolve international concerns over Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

Together with other countries involved in six-party talks with North Korea, "we are working with Pyongyang in order that it exercises restraint and in order to prevent hasty steps" by North Korea, Lavrov told journalists.

But the Russian minister cast doubt on Pyongyang's seriousness, saying: "It is not the first time that we've heard this kind of announcement, but for the most part these announcements have not been confirmed."

The current standoff over North Korea's nuclear programme erupted in 2002 when the United States accused Pyongyang of running a secret uranium enrichment programme in violation of a 1994 denuclearisation agreement.

But tensions between the US administration of President George W. Bush and Pyongyang have risen since North Korea test-launched seven missiles in July, heightening speculation that a nuclear weapons test was in the works.

The South Korean presidential Blue House had no immediate comment, as Tuesday is a public holiday marking National Foundation Day.

The Seoul government has for years adopted a "sunshine policy" of engagement with the North, but suspended regular aid shipments after the missile tests.

And a British expert on Japan and northeast Asia security, John Swenson-Wright, warned Tuesday's threat should not be underestimated, but said it could be part of a delicate diplomatic game of brinkmanship.

"It's very serious because of the implications for the region and for the Bush administration proliferation policy," the expert with the Chatham House international affairs think-tank in London told AFP.

"I would be surprised if they went ahead and tested. It exposes them to a great deal of risk, far more than the missile launch. "I think the Americans are going to have to move pretty quickly to put something on the table that looks attractive to the North Koreans," he said, adding that the Americans would not "want to be faced with the dilemma of how to respond". –– AFP

[Rick Donaldson]

North Korea Vows First Nuclear Test


Article
By CHOE SANG-HUN and JOHN O’NEIL
Published: October 3, 2006


SEOUL, Oct. 3 — North Korea announced today that it plans to conduct its first nuclear test, sharply escalating its standoff with the United States and setting off ripples of alarm in Japan and South Korea.


Also today, an Iranian official proposed a new solution to the standoff over its nuclear program, suggesting that France create a consortium that would oversee a uranium enrichment plant in Iran.


A statement released by the North Korean state-run news agency declared that “the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure� compel the country “to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a corresponding measure for defense.�


Until now, North Korea has never acknowledged having nuclear weapons, although intelligence officials have assumed for several years that it had produced enough plutonium to build a bomb. Analysts have said in the past that a test could destabilize the balance of power in the region, perhaps pushing Japan to develop its own nuclear weapons, and could raise the risk of a military clash between North Korea and the United States.


The statement gave no indication of when such a test might occur. Last month, Kim Seung Kyu, director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told his country’s parliament that North Korea is capable of conducting an underground nuclear test at any time.


Japan’s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, called a test unacceptable and said that it would “worsen� North Korea’s position, Reuters reported. The Japanese foreign minister, Taro Aso, said that Tokyo would respond harshly to a test.


South Korea expressed “deep regret and concern� over the announcement and raised its security level. Yang Chang-Seok, who leads the government’s unification efforts, said the planned test “poses a grave threat to peace� and “will have a decisively negative impact� on relations between the two countries, according to Agence France-Presse.
John R. Bolton, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, told The Associated Press that a nuclear test would be “extraordinarily serious.�
American officials have said that if North Korea were to conduct nuclear tests, the United States would seek Security Council sanctions through a procedure that carries the threat of military action.


In London, a spokesman for Britain’s foreign ministry said a test would be “a highly provocative act with serious consequences.�


North Korea has a history of making provocative declarations meant to get attention for its demands. But this summer it set off similar alarms around the region when it followed through on threats to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile and several shorter-range missiles, defying calls by China, its chief ally in the region, and other countries to cancel the tests.
Intelligence officials have been unsure whether North Korea actually possesses nuclear weapons. The country kicked out international inspectors after being accused by the United States in 2001 of cheating on an earlier agreement to rein in its nuclear program.


China, South Korea, Russia and Japan have joined the United States in what are known as six-party talks with North Korea since then, but for almost a year, North Korea has boycotted those negotiations, citing a crackdown led by the United States on what the Bush administration calls widespread counterfeiting and money laundering by the North.


North Korea lashed out at the moves, saying Washington had left “no dastardly means and methods untried in a foolish attempt to isolate and stifle it economically and bring down the socialist system chosen by its people themselves.�


It called the crackdown a “de facto declaration of war.�


The North Korean statement today said that its ultimate goal is “to settle hostile relations� between it and the United States and remove nuclear threats from the vicinity, according to the A.P.


If it follows through on its threat, it could leave the Security Council struggling to resolve two nuclear crises at once, as talks drag on over Iran’s program.


Today, the deputy chief of Iran’s atomic energy agency, Muhammed Saeedi, told French radio in an interview from Tehran of a new proposal to end the standoff, according to news services.

[Sean Osborne]

I repeat... with added emphasis...

Originally Posted by Sean Osborne

Any North Korean nuke test is a defacto Iranian nuke test, just as the multiple missile tests of July 4/5 2006 were.

Iran funds and sponsors the North Korean nuclear weapons [production and weapons delivery] program.

[Rick Donaldson]

I think the point is probably moot, Sean. We all pretty much realize this. It doesn't matter WHO funds it, and who tests it. It's going to happen most likely and we will do little about it.

I suggest you all go over to the survival forum and start reading up on the material I posted yesterday.

Rick

[Sean Osborne]

Originally Posted by Rick Donaldson

I think the point is probably moot, Sean. We all pretty much realize this. It doesn't matter WHO funds it, and who tests it. It's going to happen most likely and we will do little about it.

Rick,

I disagree. That is my opinion and strategic assessment, it is not yet an established fact. However, there exists a whole lot of circumstantial evidence which suggests that Iran is funding DPRK nuclear and missile proliferation and programs.

Also in fact, if you are correct and my opinion and strategic assessment is moot, then logically that would make all further posting on all of these TAA sub-forums an exercise in futility and ultimately moot, if not a waste of time. Nobody survives total, unrestrained full-scale thermonuclear war. Nobody.

[Rick Donaldson]

Wrong...

People will survive total, unrestrained nuclear warfare. I'm not saying it is moot to discuss it. I'm saying that the term moot, means "Open to discussion and debate" -- and the dictionary intends for that word to be used. Not "closed to discussion" like so many wish to make it sound.

It is ACADEMIC that Iran and North Korea are in cahoots. I think we've established the fact that Iran and North Korea are working together, hand in hand in their nuclear weapons development...

US says Iranians witnessed N.Korea missile test

Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:19am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One or more Iranians witnessed North Korea's recent missile tests, deepening U.S. concerns about growing ties between two countries with troubling nuclear capabilities, a top U.S. official said on Thursday.


Asked at a U.S. Senate hearing about reports that Iranians witnessed the July 4 tests, Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator with Pyongyang, replied: "Yes, that is my understanding" and it is "absolutely correct" that the relationship is worrisome.

The above is without a DOUBT evidence of such a coalition of evil. Period. Thus, the discussion is academic. Does that mean "give up". No I didnt say that.



I STRONGLY suggest as you already have, Sean, that we not merely talk, we act. We prep ourselves for what is coming.




Unless the United States, UN (HA!), NATO (?) and other world forces band together and STOP DPRK from doing a test, then it will become a MOOT point (academic to the discussion) that Iran will shortly thereafter obtain and USE nuclear weapons on Tel Aviv.


If we step in militarily on North Korea, China will jump like a frog on a bug on the situation. They will take strong steps (read: NUCLEAR) to stop the US from dominating the situation, knowing full well they will be hit back, hard.

They will do the same to us. Hitting our cities, and civilian populations.



We're in a bad situation, so is North Korea though. And so is Iran.

I'm suggesting ONLY that we get prepared. I'm not saying GIVE UP and stop talking. No WAY.

[Sean Osborne]

Originally Posted by Rick Donaldson

Wrong... People will survive total, unrestrained nuclear warfare.

Negative, well kinda sorta...

People will survive total, unrestrained nuclear warfare but only due to Divine intervention at some point in the not-too-distant future.

For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

Jesus Christ, circa 33 AD as recorded in the Book of Matthew(NIV)

[Rick Donaldson]

Negative, well kinda sorta...

People will survive total, unrestrained nuclear warfare but only due to Divine intervention at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Well, with all due respect to the Bible, and you, and all those who believe in such things, I simply do not indulge in those sorts of discussions.

So, your belief in such things is your belief. Not necessarily mine, but I respect your beliefs in such things.

When I said people will definately survive, I mean it. They will. The human race is hardy and will survive. We might knock ourselves back to the stone age, but we'll survive.

I say this because I intend to do so myself. Listen, I don't delve into the spirutual aspects of these things. That's taken care of for me. My job is to DO here what I can do to teach, to learn and to help others to do the same -- and to show people how to do things to continue their existence.

That's my purpose, my job and as long as a bomb doesn't fall directly on my postion (something that the odds are against I'm afraid) then I'll walk out of here alive when it happens. I might be alone, but in all probability I will be leading a crew of survivors to safety. That's my plan, thats what I envision.

Every successful business person on the planet will tell you... "Envision your success. Know where you want to go. Know how to get there, and be prepared to roll with the punches".

I say the same thing, and I KNOW that I'll make it. Plus, I know that preparing for the worst and hoping for the best is right.

Anyway... that's MY "spiritual" take on it. God helps those, who help themselves.

(Oh, and just for those who don't know, that quote is NOT from the bible, but is variously attributed to several people, including B. Franklin in his "Poor Richard's Almanac" to Sopohocles.)

"Heaven ne'er helps the men who will not act." (Sophocles)
"Help thyself and God will help thee." (George Herbert (1593-1633), Jocula Prudentum)
"Help thyself, heaven will help thee." (LaFontaine, Book VI, fable 18)


I say this....

Psalms 37:3 “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” /shrug

[Sean Osborne]

I had to read this again to take this back to the topic...



Quote:

US says Iranians witnessed N.Korea missile test

Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:19am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One or more Iranians witnessed North Korea's recent missile tests, deepening U.S. concerns about growing ties between two countries with troubling nuclear capabilities, a top U.S. official said on Thursday.


Asked at a U.S. Senate hearing about reports that Iranians witnessed the July 4 tests, Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator with Pyongyang, replied: "Yes, that is my understanding" and it is "absolutely correct" that the relationship is worrisome.

As I stated earlier, there is no proof that Iran is funding DPRK nuke and missile programs. There is however a lot of circumstantial evidence and reporting of such.

Even this quote above does not prove any Iranian funding, but it is a definitive piece of the puzzle and a key recent part of my standing assessment.

Any proven North Korean missile or nuclear weapon has a high probability of being proof of Iranian capability, if not a capability of terrorists in general because North Korea will sell anything to anyone.

[Rick Donaldson]

I think that was my real point. Circumstantial evidence.

[Jag]

Fox News just had a Fox News Alert.....lots of activity, movement of people, trucks, etc. where the nuclear test is to take place....

Jag