North Korea's Nuclear Warhead Is Reportedly Lighter and More Powerful
North Korea has been on a bit of an aggressive bent lately, and the country just pushed things to a new level by reportedly conducting its third nuclear test. Pyongyang has been expected to conduct a test to follow up on its previous tests in 2006 and...
North Korea's latest nuclear test, as captured by seismic monitors in South Korea. Image: Lee Jin-Man/APNorth Korea has been on a bit of an aggressive bent lately, and the country just pushed things to a new level by reportedly conducting its third nuclear test. Pyongyang has been expected to conduct a test to follow up on its previous tests in 2006 and 2009, and last night a magnitude 5.1 earthquake in northeast North Korea signaled that the country had indeed gone ahead with detonating a new bomb.Some previously argued that a test wouldn't be a bad thing as we'd get a chance to see how far North Korea's nuclear tech has progressed. The 2009 test, which created an earthquake of similar magnitude, was estimated to have a yield of 2 to 6 kilotons, and early estimates for the current test are a yield at the high end of that range, if not a bit higher. For comparison, the Times notes that the Hiroshima bomb was 15 kilotons. So, while basing the yield on the magnitude of a quake is inexact and dependent on geology, it doesn't appear that North Korea has made a huge leap forward in their nuclear arsenal.But there is one worrisome note: North Korea's KCNA state news agency reported that the bomb used was a “miniaturized and lighter nuclear device with greater explosive force than previously.” Now, KCNA reports should be taken with a grain of salt, and saying "smaller, lighter, and more powerful" could apply to an incremental or large change. But one thing has changed since 2009: North Korea, which has long been held back as an aggressor by not having the missile tech to deliver a payload very far, Pyongyang has now sent a rocket into space. Its rocket program appears to be fairly robust, and even if its nuclear devices aren't world-crushingly powerful, "smaller and lighter" means that the country is closer to having actual ICBMs.Continue reading over at Motherboard.
ORIGINAL REPORTING ON EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS IN YOUR INBOX.
By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.