North Korea Issues

[Andrew]

Didn't think I would continue from North Korea Admits to having Nukes.

So north Korea admits to having nukes and defending itself with nukes, and today it launched 3 missles, one being an intercontenental missle.

CNN:  U.S. officials: North Korea tests long-range missile

So...

Sounds dangerous, but it would be suicide for them to launch anything at anyone (unless they can successfully send hundreds of them to different locations).

I think I will be more worried about them in 5 years.

NK admits to having WMD, tests intercontenental missles. I think the US invaded the wrong country.

EDIT: Turns out there were at least 5 missiles fired.

[Mihail]

I think that Kim isn't stupid enough to believe that he could take the world on. If he launches a missile at any country, I think he knows his country would be immediately destroyed.

[GhostHunter]

I've said this before and I'll say it again, no one will ever use a nuclear bomb until the last day of mankind. It's obvious if you launch a nuke that your lifespan's greatest potential is measured in minutes.

[chatfsh]

Are you forgetting about 1945, end of WWII?  U.S. dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively.  Isn't it ironic that we(U.S.) tend to panic when anyone else gets nuclear weapons, yet we're the only maniacs who've actually used them in wartime?  Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer that no country had them.  I just find our attitude on WMD to be a little condescending and hypocritical at times.

[Anathema]

Even a global nuclear war is never going to eradicate humanity (don't get your hopes up Dante ;))

Small amounts of (high placed) people will survive in bunkers, and there will always be regions on Earth not worth nuking and with only moderate fallout. Lots of people will die early of cancer and there will be lots of genetic defects, but I don't expect a nuclear war would wipe out humanity.

[Wolf]

We would adapt, and survive. The individuals with cellular structures more resistent to radiation would have a better chance at survival, etc. It might even only take us another hundred years to get back to an information age level of technology.

[GhostHunter]

Are you forgetting about 1945, end of WWII?  U.S. dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively.  Isn't it ironic that we(U.S.) tend to panic when anyone else gets nuclear weapons, yet we're the only maniacs who've actually used them in wartime?  Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer that no country had them.  I just find our attitude on WMD to be a little condescending and hypocritical at times.

We didn't know the long-term affects of dropping the bomb. That and the fact the invasion of Japan called for an landing force of 1.3 million.

So now that we do, no-no to Mr. Bomb.

And besides, when we dropped it we were the only ones who actually had it (though notably the Germans were close, as were the Russians who would have theirs in either 1947, or '48 to my recollection).

[gunner154]

Welcome to the world of M.A.D. my friends. Mutually Assured Destruction brings you Mutually Assured Peace!! :D

... Right.

[Davidu]

I respect the chinese for trying to get out from earth as fast as possible. Theya at least have a plan for space exploration. You might think this is off-topic, but if I were leading a country in his world where everyone is trying to get a nuke, I'd try to get the hell outta here ASAP.

[VigilVirus]

Space colonization by the Chinese -> Interspacial nuclear missile development by the US ;)

[Davidu]

;D yes, you're right. But on the other side, if the chinese get out of Earth and start colonising without bothering anyone, why bother building missles to hit them?

[VigilVirus]

Because next thing you know, you have a chinese galactic hegemony of a trillion people flying saucers down to Earth abducting american soldiers ;)

[GhostHunter]

Russia attempted to do the very same thing during the Cold War era, but failed miserably amongst preoccupying-discussion on how freakin' sweet ice-pickin' Trotsky was.

[nemafakei]

There's a sect of Trotskyism called Posadism which seems to be heavily into believing in UFOs.

[Ford]

Didn't the United States have a plan on building a missile base on the moon during the Cold War?

[Wolf]

No, but the Nazis did: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_moon_base

[GUNWOUNDS]

After the Chinese Ambassador p!ssed off the N. Korea Generals..... the test happened just recently!!

Haha.... they just keep diggin themselves into a hole.  I feel sorry for Japan and S. Korea.

[GhostHunter]

Yeah, not even really a nuke.

Our bombs dropped on Japan were the equivilent of 12,000 pounds of TNT. That was 50 years ago. Theirs was 500.

Bet you even our mother of all bombs does more damage than their nuke.

[Acriku]

Well, from their perspective they should have nukes since we do as well. gotta be the devil's advocate sometimes ;)

[VigilVirus]

Yeah, not even really a nuke.

Our bombs dropped on Japan were the equivilent of 12,000 pounds of TNT. That was 50 years ago. Theirs was 500.

Bet you even our mother of all bombs does more damage than their nuke.

Well, they have a rather limited amount of plutonium and enriched uranium, so they probably tested their smallest warhead.

[Andrew]

Hmm, so NK has WMD now. Good thing we stopped Iraq!

[lowzeewee]

How come American spy planes/drones didn't detect the missile test?

[erjin999]

The actual explosion was underground, as all sensible nuclear weapons tests should be (!)  :P

How does a country spot that from the air ? The preperation I mean ? Does the military carry a nice package with ribons on it with a big ceremony or something ? If I remember rightly, niehter India's nor Pakistan's nuke tests were detected prior to the tests.

[Acriku]

Well, also recently American spy planes were blinded by the Chinese government's lasers. I forget the article, but it was recent.

[Megashrap]

"The U.S. Geological Survey said it recorded a seismic event with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2 in northeastern North Korea coinciding with the announced test. The Colorado-based agency was unable to tell whether the event was the result of an atomic explosion or a natural earthquake."

MSNBC.

It's kind of hard to hide seismic activity anywhere in the world. The spy-planes, i'm sure we watched it via satellite....but I mean there are just some Intel that CNN aren't gonna be able to show you as it happens. But i'm sure we and others did in one way or another.