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US Intelligence: North Korea's Sixth Test Was a 140 Kiloton 'Advanced Nuclear' Device
The Diplomat ^ | September 6. 2-17 | Ankit Panda

Posted on 09/06/2017 5:40:49 AM PDT by C19fan

North Korea’s sixth nuclear test on Sunday released 140 kilotons of TNT equivalent, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment. The margin of error on the early U.S. assessment is not known and the specific explosive yield figure may be revised, but the U.S. intelligence community assesses this device to have been several times more powerful than North Korea’s previously most powerful nuclear test in September 2016.

(Excerpt) Read more at thediplomat.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: korea; nknukes; nknuketest; nuclear
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1 posted on 09/06/2017 5:40:49 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: C19fan

Who is supplying them?


2 posted on 09/06/2017 5:42:42 AM PDT by Ray76 (Republicans are a Democrat party front group.)
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To: Ray76

China or Pakistan is my guess.


3 posted on 09/06/2017 5:44:06 AM PDT by littleharbour
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To: C19fan

As someone who worked with our nuclear detection capabilities, the numbers known are very precise, and they were known at the time of the event.


4 posted on 09/06/2017 5:44:08 AM PDT by CodeToad (Victorious warriors WIN first, then go to war! Go TRUMP!!!)
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To: littleharbour

They certainly are suspects.


5 posted on 09/06/2017 5:46:57 AM PDT by Ray76 (Republicans are a Democrat party front group.)
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To: Ray76
"Who is supplying them?"

Short answer: Everybody.

China, Russia, and Iran all provide money, technology, hardware, raw materials, etc. South Korea provides money in the form of employing workers in an "enterprise zone". Even the US has been supplying them with oil, food, and a nuclear reactor. Any and all aid to this regime is fungible. Fungible aid finances their nuclear program.

6 posted on 09/06/2017 5:48:14 AM PDT by Former Proud Canadian (Islam delenda est.)
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140 KT is one the smaller scale of a city destroyer if the delivery vehicle is accurate enough. As a comparison the Trident III carries the W-76 a 100 KT weapon. The question is how did the Norks achieve this. Booster fission devices where one places fusion material in the middle of the fission warhead can produce these types of yield. The fusion that occurs releases more neutrons resulting in more “burning” of the fission fuel boosting the power. Another option is the Layered Cake design developed by the Russians. This design employs alternating layers of fission/fusion materials. Or the Norks tested a small true thermonuclear device; the two stage Teller-Ulam design. That type of weapon can be scaled to whatever yield you want.


7 posted on 09/06/2017 5:48:37 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: C19fan

I find it hard to believe that North Korea is doing this all by itself. I know that Clinton sent them some advanced technology and I would think that China is providing a lot of it. If China can arrange for Norkea to eventually knock out the USA with three or four EMPs perhaps China thinks the Boomer response would not hit Chin. China could then do whatever china wants in the world with only the Moslems as real opposition. Russia would become a tributary state.


8 posted on 09/06/2017 5:48:56 AM PDT by arthurus
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To: C19fan
US Intelligence: North Korea's Sixth Test Was a 140 Kiloton 'Advanced Nuclear' Device

Still conventional A-bomb, not a Hydrogen bomb as they claim.

9 posted on 09/06/2017 5:49:54 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: CodeToad

The comment about it being ‘advanced’ tells me it is optimized for EMP.

I am so screwed.


10 posted on 09/06/2017 5:50:12 AM PDT by Lazamataz (The "news" networks and papers are bitter, dangerous enemies of the American people.)
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To: DiogenesLamp

If you see my earlier post at a minimum a boosted A-bomb.


11 posted on 09/06/2017 5:50:43 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: DiogenesLamp
A bombs are actually better for EMP generation, if I am not mistaken.

I am so screwed.

12 posted on 09/06/2017 5:50:54 AM PDT by Lazamataz (The "news" networks and papers are bitter, dangerous enemies of the American people.)
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To: Lazamataz

They better hope their first shot works then, because they won’t get a second one.


13 posted on 09/06/2017 5:52:26 AM PDT by struggle (The)
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To: arthurus

My real question is why President Trump is not focusing on EMP defense.


14 posted on 09/06/2017 5:52:27 AM PDT by Lazamataz (The "news" networks and papers are bitter, dangerous enemies of the American people.)
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To: CodeToad

I strongly doubt NK has the capability to produce these weapons. I believe they are being supplied by other countries, either officially & secretly or by a rouge element.

How are they transported without being detected? Even if NK is somehow manufacturing these weapons where is the radioactive materiel coming from and how has it avoided detection?


15 posted on 09/06/2017 5:53:37 AM PDT by Ray76 (Republicans are a Democrat party front group.)
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To: C19fan
If you see my earlier post at a minimum a boosted A-bomb.

It's been awhile since I studied this stuff, but my recollection is that we were getting yields in this range with very little contribution from Fusion. Most of the energy came from improvements in the Fission process, such as thicker tamper and such.

I don't think just adding Lithiumhydroxide to the mix does anything useful. Our initial designs of Fussion bombs required fission material sufficient for two A-bombs to get it to work at all.

16 posted on 09/06/2017 5:55:08 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Ray76
How are they transported without being detected? Even if NK is somehow manufacturing these weapons where is the radioactive materiel coming from and how has it avoided detection?

They are making their own plutonium. They have a breeder reactor set up for just this purpose.

17 posted on 09/06/2017 5:56:39 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: DiogenesLamp

Is this the technology Clinton transferred to them, or did they get it from someone else?


18 posted on 09/06/2017 6:04:23 AM PDT by Ray76 (Republicans are a Democrat party front group.)
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To: DiogenesLamp

The US tested a 400 KT pure fission device. The major drawback of these large fission yields is safety.


19 posted on 09/06/2017 6:04:44 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: DiogenesLamp

Still conventional A-bomb, not a Hydrogen bomb as they claim.

You don’t know that. That is in the range of fusion weapons. Thats the yield range where most of our H bombs are.


20 posted on 09/06/2017 6:12:43 AM PDT by Kozak (DIVERSITY+PROXIMITY=CONFLICT)
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