North Korea Detonates Nuke, Enters Refractory Period

Developing:

North Korea said Monday it has performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test, which would confirm that the country has a working atomic bomb as it has long claimed.

The country's official Korean Central News Agency said the underground test was performed successfully "with indigenous wisdom and technology 100 percent," and that no radioactive material leaked from that test site.

"It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the (Korean People's Army) and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability," KCNA said. "It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the area around it."

I suspect that we'll find out that this was a real test of a small nuclear warhead, but I would not be surprised in the least to find out that this was a large conventional blast like we had planned earlier this year in Nevada in an operation named "Divine Strake."

Time will tell, but I think North Korea miscalculated. They don' t seem to have any other threats to issue now that they've test-fired both missiles and warheads in the past year. They've essentially fired out with everything they have, and I don't see that they have anything with which to negotiate now.

Bad dictator. Dumb move.

Update: MKH and Allah are all over this. Back to my sick bed I go...

Update: Josh Manchester has a must-read analysis of the situation in his TCS Daily article, "Stalking the Hermit."

Update: Captain Ed ain't buying it. Not yet, anyway.

Update: Pushing their luck: Norks say they might test another. This could escalate quickly, both diplomatically and perhaps even militarily. Stay tuned...