A dud?

From The Washington Times:

U.S. intelligence agencies say, based on preliminary indications, that North Korea did not produce its first nuclear blast yesterday.


U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that seismic readings show that the conventional high explosives used to create a chain reaction in a plutonium-based device went off, but that the blast's readings were shy of a typical nuclear detonation.


"We're still evaluating the data, and as more data comes in, we hope to develop a clearer picture," said one official familiar with intelligence reports.

"There was a seismic event that registered about 4 on the Richter scale, but it still isn't clear if it was a nuclear test. You can get that kind of seismic reading from high explosives."

The underground explosion, which Pyongyang dubbed a historic nuclear test, is thought to have been the equivalent of several hundred tons of TNT, far short of the several thousand tons of TNT, or kilotons, that are signs of a nuclear blast, the official said.

I hope that this turns out to be accurate. Not only because I don't want a crazy Stalinist dictator like Kim to have the bomb, but because of what it will do to Kim's self image.

Kim is obsessed with having respect and being taken seriously. If his bomb fizzled or he never had one in the first place and got caught in a lie he will lose face. He will see himself as the laughing stock of the world (he already is, but doesn't know it).

What he will do to recover his pride is anyone's guess, but it just might be enough to give the rest of the world the excuse it needs to go in and send him on to his eternal appointment with Satan's backyard grill.