North Koreans Light Off Nuke Test

Goodbye Foleygate scandal - if this report is true, this will be topic one this week and any Dem trying to continue the Foley discussion will just look silly:

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test Monday, Yonhap news agency reported, citing government officials.

South Korean officials couldn't immediately confirm the report.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has convened a meeting of security advisers over the issue, Yonhap reported, and intelligence over the test has been exchanged between concerned countries.

The North said last week it would conduct a nuclear test as part of its deterrent against a possible U.S. invasion.

The NoKos just love to stir the pot, and they've been trying to get the U.S. in bilateral talks instead of the six party talks President Bush favors. They've been threatening a test if Bush didn't give in.

Bush didn't give in, and the NoKos may have done a test, and now watch the Dems try to blame Bush for not being unilateral (after blaming him for years for being "unilateral" in Iraq).

If the test happened, this will be a big story. If there's any good news, the NoKos now have one less bomb.

UPDATE: Fox says a U.S. official has confirmed the test. The USGS has confirmed a 4.2 earthquake in North Korea. Some reports indicate that although it was a sizeable explosion, it may have been a what is known as a "fizzle" - an incomplete reaction resulting in a much lower than designed explosive yield. It would still ruin your day, but it might not ruin your entire city.

Another thought: The UN is about to elect a South Korean as Secretary General. I wonder how much that fact played into the NoKo decision to test their bomb?