N. Korea: Hydrogen bomb test successful

[CaptainCrunch]

The speed that they've accelerated this program both in terms of bomb size, and miniaturization and in terms of ballistic missile technology is pretty stunning.

Partly because the North Koreans are cutting serious corners in terms of how they're doing this, and partially because I believe that they're using foreign expertise.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

The speed that they've accelerated this program both in terms of bomb size, and miniaturization and in terms of ballistic missile technology is pretty stunning.

Partly because the North Koreans are cutting serious corners in terms of how they're doing this, and partially because I believe that they're using foreign expertise.

Who do you think is helping them.

China and Russia could be doing it to eff with the USA and keep their influence in the region down.

It could also be a nation that wants nukes themselves but doesn't have them. They strike a deal with N. Korea that allows eventual access without the repercussions of starting their own nuclear program.

[photon]

It sure is hard not to think they're getting help from Russia or Iran or someone.

[CaptainCrunch]

I tend to lean towards Iranian help. They get a benefit from it if they need to develop their program, North Korea has done all of the heavy lifting.

I don't know how much help Russia would be giving them, because it would frankly be at a cost of hard currency, something that North Korea doesn't have a ton of, plus if Russia got caught doing a double deal they would become considered a rogue nation by the UN.

Heck for all we know North Korea could be using mercenary help on this, there were lots of experts in South Africa and other nations that were thrown out of work.

[photon]

That's true, the knowledge just gets easier and easier to obtain as time goes on.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I tend to lean towards Iranian help. They get a benefit from it if they need to develop their program, North Korea has done all of the heavy lifting.

I don't know how much help Russia would be giving them, because it would frankly be at a cost of hard currency, something that North Korea doesn't have a ton of, plus if Russia got caught doing a double deal they would become considered a rogue nation by the UN.

Heck for all we know North Korea could be using mercenary help on this, there were lots of experts in South Africa and other nations that were thrown out of work.

Apparently, there is a group of rogue Pakistani scientists who helped Syria and North Korea with their weapon programs. This guy was supposedly one of them:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Qadeer_Khan

Pakistan itself, of course, denies any involvement. Apparently, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, and North Korea may have all been working together.