Phoney Korean Nuclear Tests
Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 1:53 am
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6040494.stmNorth Korea's claim to have successfully detonated a nuclear bomb on 9 October sent shock waves around the world.
But as scientists pore over the blast's data looking for important clues about the North's nuclear programme, one question remains unanswered - was the explosion in fact a failure, or even a fake?
Chinese and South Koreans have so far found no evidence of a nuclear test. US officials say an initial investigation picked up traces of radioactivity near the alleged test site, but cautioned that more tests were still needed to be sure.
Kim Jong-il seems like the kind of person who would do something like a fake test just to rub peoples noses in it. And he looks (and acts) way too much like the Team America dummy to be taken seriously. Besides I doubt it would have been in Kim's best interest to do a real test.
From the news pictures of the explosion, even if they were meant to be underground tests, they just didn't look quite right.