“It is just to have H-bomb as self-defence against the US having numerous and humongous nuclear weapons. The DPRK’s fate must not be protected by any forces but DPRK itself.”

North Korean State Television Broadcast
(January 6 2016)

January 6 2022 — On January 6 2016 (at 10:00:01 UTC+08:30), North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear detonation at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, approximately 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of Kilju City in Kilju County. The test was conducted ahead of Kim Jong-un birthday (January 8, 1983). Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

RELATED POST: A SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF NORTH KOREA SECOND NUCLEAR TEST (May 25 2009)

RELATED POST: CIA Establishes Korea Mission Center

RELATED POST: One Year Ago — Radio Pyongyang Resurrects “NUMBERS STATION”

RELATED POST: NORTH KOREA Claims to Have Successfully Tested H-Bomb [First estimate of the Yield]

RELATED POST: Significant Uncertainties in the Yield Estimate of North Korea H Bomb

UPDATE (January 6 2023) — North Korea’s leadership appears to have decided against officially commemorating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s birthday (Jan. 8) this year.

On a 2023 calendar published by Foreign Languages Publishing House, which was recently obtained by Daily NK, there was no separate explanation for Kim’s birthday.

This contrasts with the birthdays of Kim’s predecessors, Kim Il Sung (Apr. 15) and Kim Jong Il (Feb. 16).

END of UPDATE

On January 6 2016, North Korean media announced that the country had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb in ″self-defence against US″.

However, third-party experts as well as officials and agencies in South Korea questioned North Korea’s claims.

Most experts contend that the device was more likely to have been a fission bomb such as a boosted fission weapon.

The US Geological Service reported a 5.1 magnitude quake while the China earthquake network centre gave the magnitude as 4.9.

The test was conducted ahead of Kim Jong-un birthday (January 8, 1983). His next candle could bring quite a show.

Why I Started Blogging

On October 9, 2006, North Korea conducted its first nuclear test. That event prompted me to blogging. Here is the story.

Beside the time and the location of the “event”, seismic waves can also reveal the magnitude of the explosion.

In very good approximation, the magnitude of body waves is proportional to the logarithm of the yield in kilotons: Mb = 4.26 +0.97 log (Y). [A kiloton is equivalent to 1,000 tons of TNT.]

On October 9 2006, I used this equation to estimate the yield of the first North Korea nuclear test at 0.2 kiloton. 

At the time, this estimate was in contradiction will all reported analysis that had estimated the yield at several kilotons!

On October 17 2006, the office of John Negroponte — the then US National Intelligence Director — finally admitted that the size of the explosion was indeed less than 1 kiloton. 

Using a simple pocket calculator, I had obtained the right result long before the CIA. 

RELATED POST: Three Years Ago — The True Story of Dr A. Q. Khan’s Nuclear Black Market

RELATED POST: One Year Ago — Libyan Nuke Program Was CIA-MI6 Sting Op

That story and two other CIA nuke-related big lies — the nonsensical narrative regarding A. Q. Khan and the fictitious Libyan nuclear project — encouraged me on the path to blogging.

But it all started on October 9 2006 when I decided to do a quick fact-checking of the New York Times. 

RELATED POST: Sciences in the Media — New York Times editorial : “A Severe Strain on Credulity” (January 13, 1920)

Did you know? — On January 13, 1920, an unsigned New York Times editorial ridiculed Professor Goddard’s proposal to launch rockets beyond the atmosphere.

The basis of that criticism was the erroneous belief that thrust was produced by the rocket exhaust pushing against the atmosphere. Sputnik must have been quite a surprise!

Back to the future — In the aftermath of the August 4 2020 Beirut Explosion, I quickly estimated that the magnitude of the explosion was in good agreement with the known amount of 2,750 tonnes ammonium nitrate.

RELATED POST: The August 4 2020 Beirut Explosion — Debunking the FBI Conspiracy Theory [UPDATE : Malice or Stupidity?]

Ironically, FBI forensic scientists have estimated that ‘only’ around 500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded on August 4 2020 in the Port of Beirut, much less than the known amount that arrived on a Russian-leased cargo ship in 2013.

Reuters, The Guardian, and other MSM are reporting this nonsensical junk-science report without even consulting scientific experts. Let me be very clear. This is total nonsense.

PS — North Korean authorities and state-run media have stated Kim’s birthdate was January 8 1982, but South Korean intelligence officials believe the actual date is a year later. It is thought that Kim’s official birth year was changed for symbolic reasons. 1982 marks 70 years after the birth of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and 40 years after the official birth of his father Kim Jong-il. [Wikipedia]

Before 2018 the US Treasury Department listed Kim Jong-un’s official birthdate as 8 January 1984. Now, the birthdate is listed as 8 January 1983, aligning with South Korea’s birthdate for Kim Jong-un. The claim that he was born in 1984 matches that given by his aunt and uncle, who moved to the United States in 1998 and were interrogated by the CIA.

“Be a free thinker and don’t accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in.”

Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)

REFERENCES

North Korea claims successful hydrogen bomb test in ‘self-defence against US’ — The Guardian

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On This Day — North Korea Tests H Bomb in “Self-Defence Against US” (January 6 2016) [UPDATE : Why I Started Blogging]