National Post

Spy agencies scrounge for details on North Korean nuclear test as no traces of nuclear particles found
U.S. and allied spy agencies have found no traces of telltale nuclear-related particles from North Korea’s Feb. 12 nuclear bomb test, leaving unresolved basic questions about the device’s design, according to officials in the United States, Europe and South Korea.

This lack of scientific evidence suggests that key questions may remain unanswered about the type of fissile material used in the test, which was detected by seismic sensors. It also leaves unaddressed questions about how far the North has advanced in its bomb design.

After the test, the U.S. Air Force Technical Applications Center in Florida dispatched WC-135 “sniffer” airplanes to look for traces of gas residue that could offer clues to the device’s design, but those efforts apparently turned up empty, the officials said. (AFP PHOTO / KCNA / KNSKCNA/AFP/Getty Images)

Graphic: North Korea is believed to have more than 800 ballistic missiles. What does it plan to do with them? 
North Korea has drawn widespread condemnation after conducting a nuclear test in defiance of international bans. Pyongyang said its scientists had set off a “miniaturized” nuclear device. The test could bring North Korea a step closer to developing a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a long-range missile. North Korea also has a fearsome collection of biological and chemical weapons. North Korean rockets have the potential to strike at most of its close neighbours and the potential to reach Europe, much of the U.S. and all of Australia.

Barack Obama promises to take ‘necessary’ steps to defend U.S. after North Korea’s ‘highly provocative’ nuclear test
President Barack Obama reacted sharply to North Korea’s nuclear test Tuesday, promising swift international action to bring the rogue communist regime in line. The detonation came hours before the American leader’s State of the Union address, where he was expected to address U.S. denuclearization plans.

In a statement, Obama called Pyongyang’s third nuclear test in seven years a “highly provocative act” that threatens U.S. security and international peace. The reaction from the White House was significantly stronger than after North Korea’s long-range missile test in December, when the administration only promised “appropriate action” alongside America’s allies.

“The danger posed by North Korea’s threatening activities warrants further swift and credible action by the international community,” Obama said in a statement early Tuesday. “The United States will also continue to take steps necessary to defend ourselves and our allies.” (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Defiant North Korea warns of further action after third nuclear test
Defying UN warnings, North Korea on Tuesday conducted its third nuclear test in the remote, snowy northeast, taking a crucial step toward its goal of building a bomb small enough to be fitted on a missile capable of striking the United States.

North Korea said the atomic test was merely its “first response” to what it called U.S. threats, and said it will continue with unspecified “second and third measures of greater intensity” if Washington maintains its hostility.

The underground test, which set off powerful seismic waves, drew immediate condemnation from Washington, the UN and others. Even its only major ally, China, voiced opposition. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

Graphic: Taking stock of the world’s nuclear missiles

This week, China urged Russia and the United States to slash their nuclear arms. Top Chinese official Cheng Jingye told a meeting in Vienna, “As countries with [the] largest nuclear arsenals, the U.S. and Russia should continue to make drastic reductions in their nuclear arsenals in a verifiable and irreversible manner.”

Stephen Harper fears Iran would use nuclear weapons if it was able to produce them
Prime Minister Stephen Harper insisted he is not preparing the Canadian public for war with Iran but, in his starkest warning yet, he said he fears the regime in Tehran is prepared to use nuclear weapons, if it manages to produce them.

In an interview with the National Post and Postmedia News, Mr. Harper said Iran’s quest to develop weapons of mass destruction is “a grave threat to peace and security.”

“For the first time in history, we are facing a regime that not only wants to attain nuclear weapons but a regime that has, compared to virtually all other holders of nuclear weapons in the past, far less fear of using them,” he said.

Pressed on whether the use of a nuclear device would constitute an act of suicide by Tehran, he responded: “I’m not sure that would dissuade them… We’re dealing with a fanatical and dangerous regime.” (Photo: Chris Wattie/Reuters)

What’s in the IAEA’s report on Iran’s nuclear program?
The title of the report may be dull — Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran — but the implications could be explosive. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) lays out “credible” evidence that Iran is working towards developing a nuclear weapon.

Graphic: How Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear program
An International Atomic Energy Agency report, due out Tuesday, is expected to push the Middle East to the brink of crisis, if it raises additional doubts over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. With that in mind, the National Post’s graphics team takes a look at what we know about Iran’s nuclear program, and what a strike against it might look like.