North Korea’s Nuclear Test: Are You Listening, America?
EARS shut to the impending chorus of international condemnation, North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on February 12th. It said the detonation was of a “smaller and light” atomic bomb that was different from its previous two, and that it had “great explosive power”. Figuratively speaking, the blast may have been meant to resonate loudest in Washington, DC.
Judging by the seismic activity that was detected near North Korea’s Punggye-ri testing site, experts said the blast may have been marginally more powerful than that created by previous tests, in October 2006 and May 2009. Data from the U.S. Geological Survey put the tremor at a magnitude of 4.9, bigger than either of those caused previously. South Korean officials said it may have been 6,000-7,000 tons in TNT equivalent—again, bigger than in the past.
Read more ....
My Comment: Yesterday's North Korean nuclear test puts to bed any hope that the new ruler in North Korea is interested in reforming the political and economic structures of the country. What he is focused on instead is building a nuclear arsenal that can threaten anyone .... the U.S. included. This is an ominous development .... and I do not see any positive suggestions or ideas on what should be the strategy to confront such a threat from the UN or any other country or political body in the world.