01-14-2018, 06:20 AM
quote:
Originally posted by kalakoa
1. North Korea nukes are only meaningful as a threat; they lose all value if launched.
2. North Korea "says" the have nukes, but who knows if they really have them?
Good points K, but some quibbles with the first two:
1. Don't assume that they can't both have nuclear technology and yet be riddled with idiots and/or loons. For an example of this, we need only look in the mirror. In the Cold War, the Russian and us accidentally nearly set off between one and a thousand or so nukes on roughly a dozen occasions. We now have very sophisticated technology and procedures in place to minimize that risk. It's doubtful that the North Koreans have devoted nearly as much effort to preventing a launch by someone, say, clicking the wrong button twice in a row. [:p]
2. Yeah, they got 'em. You can't fake the seismic and fission products of nuclear detonation and we spend a fair amount of effort making sure that someone isn't testing them without us knowing about it. We hate surprises. https://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-detection.htm