Some people think it was a dud.

While others think it was a fake.

But, at least the Russians are impressed. Russian news release.

Useful summary from Q&O.

Aram Bakshi says it’s all George W. Bush’s fault. And Tim F., John Cole’s pocket-edition Grima Wormtongue, agrees.

Ben Johnson blames Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

I think you can go right back to Harry Truman on this one. He should have allowed MacArthur to win the war. Truman provided the still commonly-implemented model of wasting American money and lives in pursuit of lesser objectives than victory. In the case of Vietnam, avoiding aiming at victory ultimately produced defeat. The original version of the policy was so good a choice, that, technically speaking, we’re still engaged in Harry Truman’s unfinished war.

Results are ambiguous. But a nuclear bomb in the hands of the insane, utterly irresponsible North Korean communist regime will inevitably make its way into the hands of even-less-accountable non-state surrogate terrorist organizations.

Bad children are playing with matches. If any adults are present, they ought to put a stop to this.

China Confidential reports that

a delegation of visiting Iranians observed the tests, which seem to have been conducted as part of a simulated response to a US air attack. The long-range Taepondong-2 missile that plunged intact into the Sea of Japan–after staying aloft for nearly two minutes and not 40 seconds as initially reported by the US–was meant to simulate a nuclear weapon strike on US allies–probably Japan–or assets. Two or three intermediate-range ballistic missiles were also fired, as China Confidential reported yesterday, in addition to three or four short-range missiles.

US, Japanese, and Israeli analysts believe the Iranian contingent–which traveled to North Korea via Beijing–included scientists, technicians, and 10 or more Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers, including members of the elite Partisans of the Mahdi group. Sources say the Iranians paid for the tests and were keen to observe the results as Tehran’s strategic and tactical missile system was built by North Koreans, using Chinese designs. Iran’s Islamist leadership is apparently convinced that the US intends to attack it–directly or through Israel.

Sources say the Iranians and their North Korean hosts were satisfied with the test results. Contrary to media reports, the exercise was successful.

In a later posting, CR argues that Kim Jong-Il is attempting to play the nuclear card, as Fidel Castro did in 1962, to extort a permanent non-invasion pledge from the United States.

North Korea ignored the protestations of the United States and other countries, and went ahead and tested a long-range missile intended to be capable of striking the Wester Coast of the United States.

Their long range test failed 40 seconds into its flight this time.

It strike me that it’s exceedingly foolish to wait until outlaw regimes like North Korea and Iran perfect their capabilities, and proceed to use them or distribute them to other parties.

Pyongyang: old houses hidden behind high-rises. Note highway traffic: pedestrians.

Here’s something we don’t see every day. Photographs of North Korea taken by visiting Russian web-designer Artemii Lebedev.

The original version (in Russian) is here. Use CONTROL + arrow keys to move forward and back through the photo pages here.