BREAKING NEWS: NK May Be Preparing Nuke Test

Thanks to a reader for forwarding; via ABC News:

There is new evidence that North Korea may be preparing for an underground test of a nuclear bomb, U.S. officials told ABC News.

“It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility,” said a senior State Department official.

A senior military official told ABC News that a U.S. intelligence agency has recently observed “suspicious vehicle movement” at a suspected North Korean test site.

The activity includes the unloading of large reels of cable outside P’unggye-yok, an underground facility in northeast North Korea. Cables can be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside observation equipment. The intelligence was brought to the attention of the White House last week.

It’s a well-worn cliche, but this appears to be what’s known as “upping the ante.” You’ve got to wonder why, unless Richardson is right about “strategic disengagement.” After all, the missile tests they tried last time were mostly a technical flop, pissed off the Chinese, killed the Sunshine Policy, exposed the six-party talks (which nearly resulted in North Korea winning some major concessions) as a farce, and finally got the ball rolling on concerted international sanctions. It’s really hard to understand what they expect to gain this way, unless they’re just too cocooned to analyze their own predicament.

I, for one, am hoping they do it. We already believe North Korea has nukes. There’s no point in remaining in a state of escapist denial about it, and those who believe that North Korea’s intentions are really defensive deserve a dramatic refutation.

I wonder which way the wind will blow that day.