After India announced Monday it had conducted the nuclear tests, recent satellite and other intelligence observations of India's nuclear testing site were checked, U.S. government sources told CNN.

"It was determined that nothing unusual had been picked up", the sources said.

The 3 nuclear tests India conducted in 1998 escaped global detection. They announced it to the world. They also released absolutely no surface radiation.

North Korea will NOT announce their detonations to the world. We have no detection stations in North Korea. With the closest seismic sensors in South Korea, we have no accurate gauge of seismic activity on that small scale. New Scientist, as usual, is parroting folks whose job it is to discourage the belief. The NS suggestion that all tests are identifiable is nonsense. We have classified orbital assets that are supposed to help detect these things just because the ground detection is a failure or at best an imprecise science. I worked on a project for the BMDO back in the good ol' Clinton era (before it was renamed MDA) in regards to nuclear detection and know fully well that these folks are blowing smoke when they say a detonation can easily and absolutely be identified.

Ambassadors were led to a site 60km from the epicenter of the seismic activity that was detected. Why? Because a perfect underground test would reveal absolutely no radiation, however an imperfect one might leave an elevated background radiation level for 20-30km around the test site for a short period. So they were taken just far enough away not to be able to detect anything.

NK has intent.
NK has enriched uranium.
NK has technical ability
We expected such a test--sooner than this.

When NK invites folks to come visit...you know something is up. If they really had not detonated a nuke they would tell the international community and their "false accusations" where to shove it.

You don't see the US categorically denying the possibility that the detonation was nuclear either. Politically, such a detonation would be egg on George Bush's face and a distraction from the Iraq situation. Kerry wouldn't push it either because if he is wrong it would blow up in his face (pardon the pun) and because it might remind folks we live in perilous times where conservative leadership is wanted.

Europe & Russia are at this moment selling nuclear parts to Iran. It is not in their best business interests to focus on the misuse of these "peaceful" technology transfers.

Bottomline: time will tell. If it turns out it was a nuclear test..I won't be gratified, I will merely be glad my assessment skills are still acute.

;-)

SDAI-Tech1