Wok, is this N. Korea desperate for attention?

[gotsnowgotslush]

Wok, is this N. Korea desperate for attention?

The Japanese government has determined North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth nuclear test, the country’s foreign minister, Taro Kono said, according to Kyodo news


https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...b0be1f0a693a64#block-59ab8f61e4b0be1f0a693a64


September 3, 2017

The US Geological Survey recorded a 6.3 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 0.0 km, a strong indicator the event may have been a nuclear test conducted by Kim Jong Un's military. The USGS described the event as an "explosion."

Just hours after the quake was detected Sunday, North Korea's official news agency KCNA had reported North Korea had developed a new advanced hydrogen bomb.

 

[Hypoxia]

follow the money

The Japanese government has determined North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth nuclear test, the country’s foreign minister, Taro Kono said...

Kim is in a pickle. Nuke tests ain't cheap. Rocket launches ain't cheap. Kim ain't got lots of money on hand. At what point does the cost-benefit analysis say to do something else, and what might that "something else" be?

 

[Hypoxia]

Update: another twist

This popped up in my daily newsletter from Deutche Welle, the German national media network:

North Korean nuclear tests spread fear among German Winter Olympic teams

With North Korea conducting more nuclear tests, some German sports federations are getting antsy five months ahead of the Winter Olympics. Pyeongchang, the city hosting the event, is very close to North Korea.
<snip>
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not officially announced plans to move the Olympics from Pyeongchang, despite rumors it might relocate the event to Sochi - the previous host of the Winter Olympics.

Try this scenario. Kim blasts a thermo-nuke, makes scary noises. IOC and member nations freak out, threaten to cancel S.Korea olympics, which of course would cost S.Korea LOTS of money and humiliation.

Meanwhile, in back-channel talks, Kim's surrogates tell the South, "We'll cut back on this threatening shit if you'll hand over a few hundred billion bucks in food aid and other gooeies, okay?" In other words, the old Protection Racket. Pay us or maybe your house catches fire with your kids inside, capiche?

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

North Korea's previous nuclear tests had been in the tens of kilotons range, corresponding roughly to the size of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs that were dropped on those Japanese cities by American bombers at the close of World War II.

By contrast, early estimates of Pyongyang's latest test "are putting [it] in the hundreds of kiloton range," Brumfiel writes.

September 3, 2017

North Korea defies predictions — again — with early grasp of weapons milestone

"Many predicted that a miniaturized version of the presumed thermonuclear bomb would soon be in North Korea’s grasp, and that it probably already exists."

"When Pyongyang boasted last year that it had tested a thermonuclear device, many U.S. experts dismissed the claim as propaganda."

"By early Sunday, Washington time, the skepticism had mostly evaporated."


Although it is not known for certain that North Korea can build a miniaturized thermonuclear warhead that can fit on a missile, Acton said, “I believe we have to assume it can.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...b822a46da5b_story.html?utm_term=.b1c4c1584b5d

Congratulations, Right Wing Extremists. You wanted the Good Ol' Days to return. Did you forget about this shit ?