Breaking- USGS- M 6.3 Explosion - 24km ENE of Sungjibaegam, North Korea

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Possible explosion, located near the site where North Korea has detonated nuclear explosions in the past. If this event was an explosion, the USGS National Earthquake Information Center cannot determine its type, whether nuclear or any other possible type.

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us2000aert#executive

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us2000aert#map

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Related earlier.

North Korea claims leader inspects new H-bomb

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a new, “super explosive” hydrogen bomb meant to be loaded into an intercontinental ballistic missile, Pyongyang’s state media said Sunday, a claim to technological mastery that many outside experts will question but that raises the possibility of an imminent nuclear bomb test....


https://apnews.com/edd942c7344c43a7bf12ce94ddef0cba/North-Korean-leader-inspects-new-H-bomb

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For reference purposes.

...a 1971 underground nuclear test near the Aleutian Islands, in Alaska. It was a 5-megaton hydrogen bomb, detonated by the United States, and had a body wave magnitude of approximately 6.9 on the Richter scale. This was the largest underground detonation in history.....

https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/could-nuclear-bomb-testing-cause-earthquakes.html

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News a few hours ago.

N. Korea says it loaded H-bomb onto missile

The North Korean regime said leader Kim Jong Un watched as nuclear scientists loaded a hydrogen bomb onto a missile, a new technological feat that has yet to be independently confirmed.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the Kim regime completed its most recent advance in atomic weaponry Saturday. The agency described the warhead as a "thermonuclear hydrogen bomb" with an adjustable explosive capacity of hundreds of kilotons.....

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/09/02/N-Korea-says-it-loaded-H-bomb-onto-missile/2641504397966/

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[TomSea]

Thanks for informing us all about this. I was not aware of this.

[montanajoe]

A 4.3 was detected a few minutes later due to "cave in"...

Pretty clear they have just tested a H bomb and had not anticipated its destructive force..

Will only embolden the Norks.....

[DB]

If someone is threatening to nuke you and they have nukes, you have no choice but to believe them and do whatever it takes to stop them before they do.

[edpc]

Seoul has revised their initial reading of 5.7 down a tick to 5.6 on the Richter scale.  The estimated yield is somewhere in the 100kt range.  I'm still of the opinion this and other NK tests are fizzles of unwieldy devices that cannot be deployed via missile warhead.  Everything known about their fuel processing capabilities and previous test results point to this.

[Major Confusion]

Seoul has revised their initial reading of 5.7 down a tick to 5.6 on the Richter scale.  The estimated yield is somewhere in the 100kt range.  I'm still of the opinion this and other NK tests are fizzles of unwieldy devices that cannot be deployed via missile warhead.  Everything known about their fuel processing capabilities and previous test results point to this.

But can we really afford to hope their tests are fizzles?  I'm of the opinion that we will have to do something.  Unfortunately there are no good options here.

[mountaineer]

Allahpundit‏ @allahpundit

Sounds like it’s a day for strongly worded statements and pointless UNSC murmuring
7:00 AM - 3 Sep 2017

[edpc]

But can we really afford to hope their tests are fizzles?  I'm of the opinion that we will have to do something.  Unfortunately there are no good options here.

I'm not saying they don't have nuclear devices and wouldn't try using them.  They already are, in effect, using them to threaten and blackmail.  My point is they aren't capable of doing what they claim about miniaturization and missiles.  The device would be too bulky for an ICBM.

It's likely the early devices they constructed were similar to the 'Thin Man' we were developing in the 1940s.  The results demonstrated similar characteristics.  Yes, it works, but the yield will be much lower than the fissile material's potential.  It'll also be very 'dirty' and create a lot of fallout.  It's probably why they've done everything underground.