BREAKING NEWS: North Korea claims nuclear test!

[Barnabas]

and south korea (also may think of getting nukes)

china is pissed since she wants to be the big power there, if all those countries go nuclear, her influence is greatly reduced

[bipolarbear]

Oh boy, nukes again. I guess we better to work on an antimatter bomb before we fall behind.

[Odin]

Oh, f*ck...

[DRoseDARs]

Yay! More bullsh*t the world doesn't need right now!

[Gatekeeper]

Seismic readings from South Korea, Australia and now the United States have confirmed a "non-natural" tremor at approximately the 3.6 to 4.2 magnitude on the Richter scale.

Regarding possible ramifications, I'm not sure anything horrible will happen. Just look at Pakistan in 1994, when it went nuclear. What'd they get slapped with? Some sanctions and that's about it. Heh. You know what'd be funny? NK's test sets off a nuclear arms race that actually ends up stabilizing East Asia, much as the Cold War left the now-dead Soviet Union and still-vibrant America facing off with each other, unable to really do much of anything.

I bet China wouldn't like it one bit if Taiwan and Japan acquired nuclear capabilities.

Gatekeeper

P.S. Oh, BTW: Thank God we're in Iraq, saving the world from the diabolical Saddam Hussein!

[:) Smiley]

we thought the world was going to end when the Russians got the nuke... then we thought the same when the Chinese did... and again when the Pakistanis did... and all that's really changed is that we haven't gone to war with any of the above countries since they've gotten nukes... and seeing the mess in Iraq, is that such a bad thing?

[Proteus_MST]

When it announced the test, KCNA described it as an "historic event that brought happiness to our military and people".

See,
they just do it to raise the happiness of their citizens

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Smiley
we thought the world was going to end when the Russians got the nuke... then we thought the same when the Chinese did... and again when the Pakistanis did... and all that's really changed is that we haven't gone to war with any of the above countries since they've gotten nukes... and seeing the mess in Iraq, is that such a bad thing?

I didn't realise you were so old..

JM

[DRoseDARs]

Originally posted by Smiley
we thought the world was going to end when the Russians got the nuke... then we thought the same when the Chinese did... and again when the Pakistanis did... and all that's really changed is that we haven't gone to war with any of the above countries since they've gotten nukes... and seeing the mess in Iraq, is that such a bad thing?

The thing with those countries is they all have a redundant chain-of-command regarding the maintainence and use of nuclear weapons. North Korea has a bat**** crazy leader (so we're told) and everyone is too scared to disobey his orders. That's the critical difference here.

However, Musharraf's control of Pakistan is tenuous at best. It wouldn't take much for him to lose power to extremists in his country, thus giving nukes to nutcases. For the time being, the threat of nuclear war with India keeps things somewhat contained.

[Proteus_MST]

I don´t think he´s crazy enough to start a nuclear strike without being provoked, but he will use it to keep the US from invading him. (which will probably work )

Of course the real danger is, that he could sell a bomb to terrorists (but this same danger already exists with Pakistan)

[GePap]

Japan will probably certainly push for sanctions, and SK might very well cut back on aide. China is the key, and I doubt they will impose any sanctions that might force NK into a collapse.

[Flip McWho]

Crazy

[Niessuh]

Originally posted by GePap
Japan will probably certainly push for sanctions, and SK might very well cut back on aide. China is the key, and I doubt they will impose any sanctions that might force NK into a collapse.

unfortunately, I don't think so

with this, NK have just guaranteed their national sovereignty and noninterference in its internal subjects. Their neighbours will trait them with more respect from now on. Besides their poverty, NK is in the first class of the new world order now, and nobody are going to change it

[Nubclear]

I remember, I was watching CNN a couple years back...the CIA was warning Bush that North Korea is on the verge of obtaining nukes and that if the US wants to intervene, it would have to do so in the next couple weeks.
Completely ignored. Instead, Bush continued his propaganda push against Iraq.

Clearly Iraq was a far larger threat than North Korea is I mean, North Korea may have nukes, but Iraq had the thread of possibly having a council to restart the program to inquire about the possibility of developing nukes!!1

[trev]

North Korea is Bush's biggest mistake, it should have been the first of the axis of evil countries to be invaded, not left alone to build a nuclear weapon.