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N Korea's bomb 'would kill 200,000'
The nuclear weapon that North Korea intends to detonate in an underground test is big enough to kill up to 200,000 people were it ever to be used against a city such as Seoul or Tokyo, Russian military experts have revealed.

They say that the weapon, with the same 20-kiloton yield as the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, is about 10ft long and weighs four tons. It is too big to fit on to any missile Kim Jong Il's regime currently possesses but if it were detonated above ground it could destroy everything within five square miles.

“I would say that carrying out a nuclear test any time soon is not to North Korea's advantage.”
Russian military officials in Pyongyang say they have received information that North Korea intends to give the US up to three months to lift financial sanctions imposed last year and to begin negotiations before carrying out its threat. "If Americans don't start bilateral dialogue with Pyongyang and lift sanctions, then Kim Jong-il is expected to give the order to carry on with the test, most likely in the second half of December or early January," one official said.

The Russians dismissed reports that the tests would take place this weekend. "Normally, if Pyongyang makes an important and provocative announcement, it tries to heat up the tension to the maximum point, and then suddenly falls silent for a long time," one analyst said. "It needs to carefully monitor the situation, watch the reaction of the rest of the world and weigh all the pros and cons again. I would say that carrying out a nuclear test any time soon is not to North Korea's advantage."

The Russians believe the test, if it happens, is likely to be carried out in a horizontal tunnel more than a mile below ground at Kilju, in North Hamgyon province, in the north-east of the country where US military satellites have detected recent activity.
Posted by: Steve White 2006-10-08
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=168059