July 8, 2003

North Korea to Test H-Bomb on Moon

Osama Suicide Bomber Will Ride Along to Assure Detonation

North Korea has developed a hydrogen bomb and plans to test it on the surface of the moon, the state-run North Korean news agency said in a television broadcast last night.

The lunar detonation, the broadcast said, would be conducted in such a way that "the world could see it and take heed."

The broadcast also said that North Korea had hired an Al Qaeda suicide bomber to ride along and assure that the hydrogen bomb did, in fact, detonate when it reached the lunar surface.

The claim to have produced a thermonuclear device, which is a million times more powerful than an atomic bomb, startled Western governments. Equally startling was the reference to a lunar detonation, since being able to send a rocket and a human pilot to the moon implies a North Korean missile program far more advanced than Western intelligence services previously thought.

"Such a claim is of some concern," said Secretary of State Colin Powell. "But I continue to believe that we can resolve things with the North Koreans through multi-lateral talks led by North Korea's neighbors and with United States participation as needed." Powell said he remained hopeful that talks might resume between North Korea and its neighbors "sometime in the next 90 days or so."

A CIA analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he doubted the North Korean claim. "As you know, our intelligence out of P'yongynag has been very good and we've not picked up any intercepts about it or about a rocket that could reach the moon," he said. "Remember, you have to escape Earth's gravity to get to the moon. They couldn't escape Earth's gravity with just a grain of rice as the payload."

North Korea's televised announcement included scenes of what the announcer said were scientists working on the nation's thermonuclear project and a still photo of an oblong object that it said was the bomb itself. They also showed blurry images of a man jogging on a track in a sports stadium and said it was the Al Queda "astronaut" undergoing training.

The broadcast made little mention of the astronaut's accommodations during the lunar journey, other than to say he would "wear warm clothing and have a supply of oxygen."

The North Korean news agency said the bomb had been nicknamed, "Slinky Child."

Separately, India announced that beginning September 1 cows will no longer be sacred.

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