PowerStroker wrote:

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The U.S. Could certainly destroy North Korea as President Trump threatened on the floor of the United Nations. But not without millions of South Koreans getting slaughtered first.

Still willing to go for it?

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What about the MILLIONS of Americans who could be slaughtered if North Korea succeeds at detonating a nuke on US soil? 

Are you still more concerned about millions of South Koreans? Just who do you put first PowerStroker? Your fellow American or South Korea?

So what you're saying is we should wait until we are attacked before we deal with the problem? Talk about disturbing! They all had since the 1950's to sort all this $hit out....

Now we got some crack-pot dictator flaring up and your suggestion is just ignore it?

Do you wait for the mosquito to bite before you swat it PowerStroker? Or if you seen it flying near would you preemptively neutralize the threat? 

After WW-II, communists declared Korea under their rule as the dust was settling elsewhere around the world...

Continued fighting between the communists & free-people within Korea saw the involvement of the U.N. & its allies...

A border had to be decided upon, to fight-from ( just like drawing-the-line ), & the 38th-parallel was selected for no other reason, than it being a line on the world map. ( Lattitude ).

Over 38,000 tonnes of napalm was used in the war against the now communist North Korea. Nukes were also seriously considered too, but fall-out to neighbors & the general region stopped their use.

Although the troops pulled-out by the mid-1950's, the war was never officially finished.

Check this out, as the war never stopped... ( Fast track to the bottom for the political status )

North Korea, officially Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), country in north-eastern Asia that occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea is bordered on the north by China, on the north-east by Russia, on the east by the Sea of Japan (known as the East Sea in Korea), on the south by South Korea, and on the west by the Yellow Sea. It has an area of 120,538 sq km (46,540 sq mi). The North Korean name for Korea is Choson. The state of North Korea was established in 1948 as a result of the post-World War II Soviet military occupation of the northern portion of the peninsula. The capital and largest city of North Korea is Pyngyang.

North Korea is extremely mountainous and marked by deep, narrow valleys. A complex system of ranges and spurs extends across the country in a generally north-eastern to south-western direction. The most prominent mountain range is the Nangnim, in the north-central region. Mount Paektu (2,744 m/9,003 ft), on the Chinese border, is the highest peak. Lowland plains comprise only about one fifth of the total area and are largely confined to the countrys western coast and to the several broad river valleys of the west. Fertile alluvial soils are found in these river valleys. Most of the soils in the mountainous regions lack organic material and are relatively infertile.

Nearly all the major rivers of North Korea rise in the mountains and flow west to the Yellow Sea. The longest river, the Yalu (Amnok), forms part of the border with China. Other streams include the Taedong, Chong-chon, and Chaeryong. Of the major rivers, only the Tumen flows to the eastern coast to empty into the Sea of Japan.

North Korea has a continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The average July temperature at Pyngyang is 24.4° C (76° F). Winter temperatures at Wnsan, in the south, average -3.9° C (25° F) but are considerably lower in the north. Annual precipitation in most parts of the country is about 1,000 mm (40 in) and is concentrated in the summer months.

North Korea is one of the richer nations in Asia in terms of mineral resources. Major reserves are found of coal, iron ore, tungsten, magnesite, and graphite. Among the other minerals present are gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and molybdenum.

Extensive coniferous forests are found in the countrys mountainous interior. Predominant species include spruce, pine, larch, fir, and cedar. The lowland areas of the west have been deforested and are under cultivation. Because of deforestation, large indigenous mammals of North Korea, which include leopards, tigers, deer, bears, and wolves, are becoming increasingly rare, and are confined to remote forested regions. Bird life includes crane, heron, eagle, and snipe.

North Korea is diplomatically and politically isolated from most of the world, making it difficult to accurately assess the health of the country's environment. North Korea does not produce enough food to be self-sufficient and relies upon agricultural imports to feed its population. Of the country's land, 14 per cent (1997) is arable, and 12 per cent (1997) is irrigated. Severe flooding during 1995 and poor growing conditions in subsequent years have led to serious food shortages. A joint study by UNICEF and the European Union (EU) in 1998 found that 62 per cent of North Korean children have stunted growth, a symptom of chronic malnutrition. The United States, the EU, South Korea, and international aid organizations have initiated large-scale relief efforts to ease the famine.

In 1993 the United Nations (UN) recognized two protected areas in North Korea, although only 2.6 per cent (1997) of the country's land area is officially protected. Many plant and animal species inhabit a heavily militarized area at the border between North and South Korea. An unknown number of land mines have been buried along North Korea's borders, threatening the country's human and animal populations. Forests cover 51 per cent (1995) of the country. Since the 1970s, it has been government policy to replant logged forests.

North Korea has ratified international agreements protecting biodiversity and the ozone layer. The country has also signed treaties limiting marine pollution, chemical and biological weapons, and whaling.

North Korea is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world, like South Korea, with no racial or linguistic minorities other than a small resident foreign (mainly Chinese) population. The dominant stock is of the Tungusic branch of the Mongol races. Koreans are essentially Mongoloid, but taller on average than Mongols, with lighter skin.

North Korea has a population of 22,224,195 (2002 estimate). The average population density is 184 people per sq km (478 per sq mi). The population, however, is very unevenly distributed and is largely concentrated in the lowland plains of the west. Life expectancy at birth (2002) is 68 years for men and 74 years for women. Urbanization of the North Korean population has progressed rapidly since the 1950s; approximately 60 per cent of the total population of North Korea is now classified as urban.

Pyngyang has a population of 2,500,000 (1995 estimate). Other major cities include Chongjin, with a population of 582,480 (1993), Nampo, population 731,448 (1993), Siniju, 326,011 (1993), Wnsan, 300,148 (1993), and Kaesng, 334,433 (1993).

Although religious freedom is guaranteed by the North Korean constitution, in actual practice religious activity is discouraged, and about two thirds of the people are declaredly non-religious. Perhaps the most prominent religious tradition belongs to the indigenous Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), which combines elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.

The language of Korea, Korean, is a member of the Altaic language family. A phonetic writing system known as Choson'gul (called Hangul in South Korea) is used.

Eleven years of education are free and compulsory in North Korea. These include one year of pre-school education, four years of primary school, and six years of secondary school. In the late 1980s some 1.5 million pupils were enrolled annually in primary schools, and another 2.8 million students attended vocational and secondary schools. The principal institution of higher education is Kim Il Sung University (1946) in Pyngyang. Total enrolment in some 280 institutions of higher education exceeds 300,000. The literacy rate is estimated at about 99 per cent.

Cultural activity is aided and encouraged by the government. Historical museums and libraries are located in many of the larger counties. The government has also formed national symphony, theatre, and dance companies.

With the establishment of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea in 1948 all industry was nationalized and agriculture was collectivized. North Korea has operated a centrally planned command economy ever since. Successive economic plans have given emphasis to development of heavy industry and to mechanization of agriculture. The gross national product (GNP) in 1995 was US$20,000 million (US$1,000 per capita). Few reliable statistics are available from North Korea, and estimates are based on South Korean sources. It is estimated that the North Korean economy has recently been contracting, by up to 5 per cent in 1992 and at greater speed since, as an agrarian crisis has taken hold. The estimated national budget for 1992 was US$19,300 million in revenue and expenditure, 40 per cent of which is customarily allocated to military expenditure.

Agriculture in North Korea is collectively organized, though some smallholdings exist. Large-scale mechanization, irrigation, and land reclamation have increased crop yields. The principal crops (with their yields for 2001) include rice (1.80 million tonnes), maize (1.30 million), and potatoes (1 million). Other important crops are millet, barley, wheat, vegetables, apples, sweet potatoes, and soya beans. Livestock number about 3.40 million pigs, 650,000 cattle, 185,000 sheep, and 16.1 million chickens. Actual agricultural production is now acknowledged as being in catastrophic decline, owing to severe floods and structural deficiencies, with the country facing frequent widespread famines.

Annual production of roundwood stands at about 7 million cu m (247 million cu ft). North Korea has a modern fishing fleet; the total annual catch in 1997 was 306,636 tonnes, largely anchovy, tuna, and mackerel.

Mining is an important sector of the North Korean economy, and efforts are being made to develop new deposits. The focus has been on iron ore and coal mines, which had, in 2000, outputs of 3 million and 79 million tonnes respectively. Other important minerals include tungsten, magnesite, zinc, copper, lead, silver, and gold.

Metallurgical industries and the manufacture of heavy machinery represent a major share of North Koreas national income. Output of pig iron amounted to 6.6 million tonnes per year in the early 1990s; crude steel totalled 8.1 million tonnes. Other manufactures include trucks, diesel locomotives, heavy construction equipment, cement, synthetic fibres, fertilizers, and refined copper, lead, zinc, and aluminium.

North Korea is well endowed with hydroelectric resources, which account for nearly 65 per cent of the annual electrical output. In 1993 electricity consumption was about 27 billion kWh. However, a fall-off in energy supplies after 1992caused by the end of cheap fuel deliveries from China and the former Soviet Unionled to a reported halving of industrial productivity. Exploration for petroleum has been undertaken, but no production has begun as yet. A nuclear power plant under construction is to be supplanted by two light-water reactors provided by the United States and South Korea.

The monetary unit of North Korea is the won, of 100 chon (2.2 won equalled US$1; early 2002). The official exchange rate bears little relation to the currencys true worth, which is widely regarded as much less. North Korea has three banks, all state-controlled; the Choson Central Bank is the bank of issue.

The bulk of North Koreas foreign trade throughout the post-war period was with the USSR, China, and other Communist countries. Since the end of the Cold War, however, trade has been diversified to include non-Communist countries, notably Japan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Australia. The ending of barter trading with the Soviet Union in 1991 was a severe blow to North Koreas economy. Minerals, metals, rice, and fish constitute the principal exports (worth about US$805 million in 1995). Petroleum, coal, chemicals, and machinery are major imports (US$1,200 million).

In 2000 the estimated total work force of North Korea was around 12 million, with about 38 per cent of the work force engaged in agriculture. The major industrial and technical trade unions are affiliated with the General Federation of Trade Unions; also important is the Korean Agricultural Working Peoples Union. Professional workers, including artists, writers, lawyers, and scientists, have their own trade organizations.

The railway system of North Korea is electrified along 38 per cent of its 8,530 km (5,300 mi) of track. There are about 2000 km (19,387 mi) of roads, of which only 6 per cent are paved. The River Taedong is important to internal trade; the total length of inland waterways is about 2,250 km (1,400 mi). Major ports include Nampo and Haeju, on the western coast, and Chojin and Wnsan, on the eastern coast.

In 1992 North Korea had some 1.1 million telephones. The government-run Korean Central News Agency is the principal distributing source of news in North Korea; several daily newspapers are published. Radio broadcasting is under the auspices of the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee; television broadcasting was instituted in 1969: some 3 million radios and 1 million televisions were in use in 1997. All media are subject to close government control.

North Korea has a strongly centralized Communist government, and is perhaps the last extant example of totalitarian Stalinism. The governments structure is set forth in the constitution promulgated in 1972 and amended in 1992 and 1998, which replaced that of 1948.

Executive power in North Korea is vested in the chair of the National Defence Committee, who is head of state and head of government. The chair is elected by the Supreme Peoples Assembly and in turn appoints the members of the National Defence Committee, which is the governments highest policy-making body. Formerly the head of state was the president, but the constitutional revisions of 1998 left this post as a memorial to Kim Il Sung, who was named Eternal President. In practice, the real position of authority is that of Secretary-General of the ruling Korean Workers Party (KWP).

The legislature, which in theory is the supreme government organ, is the unicameral Supreme Peoples Assembly. Its 687 members are elected by direct vote for five-year terms. The legislature generally meets only several times a year; its day-to-day duties are performed by the standing committee of the assembly.

The dominant political party, and the actual source of political power, is the Korean Workers Party (KWP). Two smaller parties join with the KWP in the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland.

The judicial system of North Korea consists of the central court and the provincial and peoples courts. The central court is the states highest judiciary authority; its judges are appointed to four-year terms by the standing committee.

North Korea is divided into nine provinces, three special cities, and one special district. Provinces are further subdivided into counties and districts. Each local administrative unit has its elected peoples assembly.

All North Korean citizens are entitled to disability benefits and retirement allowances. Medical care is free and available at peoples clinics throughout the country. In 1993 there were about 62,100 doctors (around 1 per 370 people). The official infant mortality rate in 2002 was 23 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The president of North Korea is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The KWP maintains political control of the military. Military service of three to ten years is compulsory for all able-bodied males. In 2001 the total military personnel was about 1,082,000, distributed as follows: army, 950,000; navy, 46,000; and air force, 86,000. Reserve forces total 4.7 million. North Korea has one of the largest armies in East Asia, though its quality is regarded as poor.

North Korea is a member of the United Nations. Otherwise, its membership of international organizations is limited.

For the history of the Korean Peninsula before it was partitioned into North and South Korea, see Korea. The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) was proclaimed in Pyngyang on September 9, 1948, but a more significant date of inception would perhaps be August 29, 1946, when North Koreas Communist Party, properly known as the Korean Workers Party (KWP), was inaugurated under the leadership of Kim Tubong and Kim Il Sung.

After the establishment of the KWP, Kim Il Sung enjoyed the support of the occupying Soviet forces (until they withdrew in late 1948), and began playing a leading role in Korean affairs north of the 38th parallel. Under the Communist Party and before the establishment of the DPRK, key political and economic reforms had already been made: elimination of moderate and right-wing elements, subordination of the formal government apparatus to Communist Party control, suppression of religious and most other sectarian groups, confiscation of land and wealth formerly belonging to the Japanese or to enemies of the regime, and the initiation of party-directed economic planning and development. Although Kim Il Sung emerged early as the principal leader, others contended for the top position. One of these, Pak Honyong, a Communist from the south, was executed after the Korean War; some believe that Pak was blamed for the loss of the war, the people of South Korea having failed to support the north as Pak had supposedly promised. Kim Tubong and other possible rivals were eliminated by the end of the 1950s, leaving Kim Il Sung in undisputed control. His personal power was buttressed by an extensive personality cult.

The war caused enormous damage, but KWP discipline and forced-labour policies resulted in considerable recovery and development by 1960. At the same time, the North Korean leadership began to turn away from Soviet tutelage, emphasizing the national character of the Korean revolution under Kim Il Sungs ideology of juche (self-reliance). As the quarrel between China and the USSR intensified, North Korea manoeuvred for even more independence of action. During the 1960s heavy industrial growth was emphasized, but the production of consumer goods and the general standard of living lagged, though in 1970 the estimated GNP per head was still higher than South Korea. Late in the 1960s, North Korea developed an especially aggressive stance towards the south: an assassination team nearly succeeded in killing South Koreas president, Park Chung Hee. In 1968 the Pueblo, a United States intelligence-gathering vessel, was seized by North Korean gunboats and its crew held for a year. Guerrilla raids were launched on the south, but without much effect. A US reconnaissance plane was shot down in April 1969. These events, rather than weakening the south, stimulated renewed defence measures and were probably counter-productive. They also influenced the formation of a harder political order in the south. A new constitution, promulgated in December 1972, created the post of president for Kim Il Sung.

In the 1970s secret talks with southern officials led to a joint declaration (July 4, 1972) that both sides would seek to develop a dialogue aimed at unification, but by spring 1973 this effort had dissolved in acrimony. Sporadic discussions on unification were held throughout the 1980s.

At the KWP Congress in 1980, Kim Il Sungs son, Kim Jong Il, was given high ranking in the Politburo and on the Central Committee of the party, placing him in a commanding position to succeed his father. Relations with the South swung between conciliation and aggression; in 1983 North Korean agents killed several South Korean Cabinet members in a bomb attack in Rangoon, but in 1986 the border with South Korea was opened for family visits. In November 1987 North Korean agents planted a bomb on a South Korean airliner which exploded over South East Asia, killing 115 passengers. These apparent shifts in policy may have stemmed from the initiatives of Kim Jong Il, reportedly an advocate of a hard line towards the South. Kim Il Sung was re-elected President in May 1990 for a four-year term. However, his regimes position was undercut by the collapse of European communism after 1989 and a rush by former Communist nations to establish diplomatic ties with South Korea. The USSR announced the end of barter trade with North Korea in 1990, plunging the economy into crisis.

In 1991 both North and South Korea joined the UN, and the two nations signed accords regarding nuclear weapons and reconciliation. Chinas decision in 1992 to establish full relations with South Korea left the North effectively isolated. In 1992 North Korea signed a pact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to allow their nuclear facilities to be inspected. Widespread domestic unrest was reported following the cessation of aid from other Communist economies. In 1993 the North Korean government refused to let inspectors examine sites suspected of nuclear-weapons production, and threatened to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which the government had signed in 1985. In December 1993 the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said that North Korea had most likely built at least one atomic weapon. Tension rose on the Korean Peninsula, with some advocating a pre-emptive US air strike on suspect sites.

Throughout the first half of 1994 the North Korean government continued to resist international pressure and did not allow a full IAEA inspection of alleged nuclear-weapon production sites, announcing its withdrawal from the NPT in June. Kim Il Sung died on July 8, 1994. After widespread national mourning, Kim Jong Il emerged as Head of State, though he delayed formal assumption of titles. The nuclear issue was formally resolved in August 1994 by an agreement between North Korea and the United States under which the latter would establish diplomatic relations and supply the North with new nuclear reactors to replace those with weapons potential. The new North Korean regime appeared somewhat more broadly based than Kim II Sungs firm dictatorship, and made tentative moves to open its economy to foreign investment and trade. North Korea only finally agreed on implementation of the nuclear agreement in mid-1995.

In the summer of 1995 disastrous flooding severely damaged North Koreas agricultural sector and raised the possibility of mass starvation. Shipments of food aid from South Korea, Japan, the United States, and the UN were periodically obstructed. Arguments which had delayed implementation of the 1995 nuclear accord were finally settled in December 1995. In April 1996 North Korea sent units into the Demilitarized Zone separating it from South Korea, in defiance of the 1953 armistice which ended the Korean War. Amid reports from a string of defectors of the crisis situation in North Korea, in May 1996 South Korea, Japan, and the United States elected to discontinue food aid following North Koreas refusal to participate in talks on a permanent settlement to replace the armistice; South Korea resumed shipments in June. The food aid issue was complicated by provocative incidents such as the beaching of a North Korean submarine in South Korea in September 1996 and the pursuit of its infiltration team crew, all but one of whom were captured or killed. North Korea issued an unprecedented apology to the South over the incident in December 1996.

North Koreas food crisis worsened in 1997, with reports of peasants eating grass and cannibalism. Aid agencies complained that the government was denying them the freedom to work, and other states were reluctant to extend help: the United States over reports that the North Korean military were hoarding food, Japan over the fate of Japanese nationals allegedly kidnapped by North Korean intelligence. A prominent North Korean ideologue, Hwang Jang Yop, who defected to South Korea in February 1997, warned that the desperate North Korean regime was prepared for a total nuclear war as a last act of defiance.

The food crisis continued throughout 1997, with the EU joining relief efforts from May. In July 1997 the official mourning period for Kim Il Sung ended, and in October Kim Jong Il was elected to the vacant post of Secretary-General of the ruling KWP. In December 1997 four-party talks between the two Koreas, the United States, and Russia to reach a permanent peace settlement for the Korean peninsula formally opened in Geneva. With no respite in the North Korean food crisis, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) launched the biggest aid operation in its history in January 1998 to tackle the situation. In a surprise reversal of previous policy, North Korea announced in February 1998 that it was prepared to talk directly to the South. Talks began in Beijing in April after an unexpected invitation from North Korea; after some success on the reuniting of families separated after the Korean War, they broke down on the question of food-aid terms.

In August 1998 North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan, raising fears of escalating tension in the region. In September 1998 Kim Jong Il became official head of state under the newly revised constitution as chair of the National Defence Commission. A report by international aid agencies in November 1998 concluded that almost two thirds of North Korean children were malnourished. In September 1999 the United States announced the easing of long-standing economic and trade sanctions against North Korea, although sanctions did remain on military equipment and on goods that can be used in weapons manufacturing.

On June 14, 2000, South Korea's Kim Dae Jung met the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il at the North Korean capital of P'yóngyang to sign a landmark agreement to improve cooperation between the two countries and to work towards reunification. It was the first time that leaders of the two countries had met since the Korean Peninsula was divided at the 38th parallel in 1945. The five-point declaration called for both sides to work independently towards reunification, initiate governmental contacts to ease border tensions, increase economic cooperation, and begin a range of exchanges. Although the agreement did not address pressing security issues facing both countries, Kim Dae Jung pledged to resolve quickly the fate of dozens of North Korean political prisoners held in South Korea, and North Korea agreed to permit reunions of families divided between the two countries since the 1950-1953 Korean War, the first of which took place in August 2000. Kim Jong Il also accepted an invitation to visit the South Korean capital of Seoul.

Improvements in relations between the two nations looked set to continue in early 2001 when the first official exchange of mail took place between people in North and South Koreathe first written communications allowed between people divided by the Korean War 50 years earlier. The reopening of the Kyongui railway line and roads connecting the two countries were also discussed. However, further advances towards reconciliation remained in question, when talks scheduled for March 2001 were cancelled by North Korea. The cancellation of the talks followed renewed criticism by US President George W. Bushs government over North Korean security issues.

A European Union delegation, headed by Swedish prime minister Göran Persson, visited the country to help the reconciliation process with South Korea. This was followed by an announcement by President George Bush on June 7 that that the United States was set to resume negotiations with North Korea, specifically over Koreas ballistic missile programme and nuclear technology capabilities. Kim Jong-Il made his first official overseas tour in August 2001, when he visited Vladimir Putin in Moscow. In discussions. Kim agreed to a missile testing moratorium until 2003.

In what seemed a policy turnabout in January 2002, President Bush, in his first State of the Union address, spoke in inflammatory terms of a number of countries (North Korea, Iran, and Iraq) as being involved in long-range missiles proliferationhe dubbed them an axis of evil.

PowerStroker wrote:

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Russia and China already have far more advanced nukes and delivery systems that actually work. They are a threat to us, and we don't always get along with them, shall we destroy them too?

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 France is already talking about pulling out of the 2018 olympics due to security concerns with North Korea.

Not getting along and making threats like North Korea are two different things. We dont always get along but that doesnt mean Im going to fire an ICBM over your house... nor would I suggest setting off an H-bomb over your local lake. Are you starting to understand the difference between not getting along and trying to start some $hit?

Pacific Proving Grounds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Pacific Proving Grounds / Pacific Test Site
primarily in the Marshall Islands
The United States began using the Marshall Islands as a nuclear testing site beginning in 1946.
Map showing location of the Pacific Proving Grounds relative to rest of Pacific Ocean
Type	Nuclear testing range
Area	~140,000 sq mi (360,000 km2)
Site information
Operator	United States Department of Energy
Status	Inactive
Site history
In use	1947-present (last nuclear test in 1962)
Test information
Nucleartests	105

The Pacific Proving Grounds was the name given by the United States government to a number of sites in the Marshall Islands and a few other sites in the Pacific Ocean at which it conducted nuclear testing between 1946 and 1962. The U.S. testeda nuclear weapon (codenamed Able) on Bikini Atoll on 30 June 1946. This was followed by Baker on July 24, 1946.

On July 18, 1947, the United States secured an agreement with the United Nations to govern the islands of Micronesia as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a strategic trusteeship territory. This is the only such trusteeship ever granted by the United Nations.^[1] The Trust Territory comprised about 2,000 islands spread over 3,000,000 square miles (7,800,000 km²) of the North Pacific Ocean. Five days later, the United States Atomic Energy Commission established the Pacific Proving Grounds.^[2]

The United States conducted 105 atmospheric and underwater (i.e., not underground) nuclear tests in the Pacific, many of which were of extremely high yield. While the Marshall Islands testing composed 14% of all U.S. tests, it composed nearly 80% of the total yields of those detonated by the U.S., with an estimated total yield of around 210 megatons, with the largest being the 15 Mt Castle Bravo shot of 1954 which spread considerable nuclear fallout on many of the islands, including several which were inhabited, and some that had not been evacuated.^[3]

Many of the islands which were part of the Pacific Proving Grounds are still contaminated from the nuclear fallout, and many of those who were living on the islands at the time of testing have suffered from an increased incidence of various health problems. Through the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, at least $759 million has been paid to Marshall Islanders as compensation for their exposure to U.S. nuclear testing. Following the Castle Bravo accident, the U.S. paid $15.3 million to Japan.^[4]

Scientists have calculated that the residents of the Marshall Islands during their lifetimes will be diagnosed with an added 1.6% (with 90% uncertainty range 0.4% to 3.4%) cancers attributable to fallout-related radiation exposures. The cancers are the consequence of exposure to ionizing radiation from weapons test fallout deposited during the testing period (1948-1958) and from residual radioactive sources during the subsequent 12 years (1959-1970).^[5]

 

Strategic Trust Territory[edit]

Main article: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

On July 18, 1947, the United States convinced the United Nations to designate the islands of Micronesia as the Strategic Trust Territory. This was the only trust ever granted by the U.N.^[1] The directive stated that the United States should "promote the economic advancement and self-sufficiency of the inhabitants, and to this end shall... protect the inhabitants against the loss of their lands and resources..."^[6]

The United States Navy controlled the Trust from a headquarters in Guam until 1951, when the United States Department of the Interior took over control, administering the territory from a base in Saipan.^[7]

Despite the promise to "protect the inhabitants", from July 1946 through July 1947, the residents of Bikini Atoll who had been relocated to Rongerik Atoll were starving for lack of food. A team of U.S. investigators concluded in late 1947 that the islanders must be moved immediately. Press from around the world harshly criticized the U.S. Navy for ignoring the people. Harold Ickes, a syndicated columnist, wrote "The natives are actually and literally starving to death."^[6] The islanders were later moved again to Kili Island, which is not surrounded by a reef. The island does not support the inhabitants' traditional way of life.

Radiation exposure[edit]

Because of the large amount of atmospheric testing, and especially the Castle Bravo accident of 1954, many of the islands which were part of the Pacific Proving Grounds are still contaminated by nuclear fallout. Many of the island inhabitants at the time of testing suffered from increased incidence of various types of cancers and birth defects^{[citation needed]}.

Scientists calculated in 2010 that during the lifetimes of members of the Marshall Islands population, potentially exposed to ionizing radiation from weapons test fallout deposited during the testing period (1948-1958) and from residual radioactive sources during the subsequent 12 years (1959-1970), perhaps 1.6% (with 90% uncertainty range 0.4% to 3.4%) of all cancers might be attributable to fallout-related radiation exposures. By sub-population, the projected proportion of cancers attributable to radiation from fallout from all nuclear tests conducted in the Marshall Islands is 55% (with a 28% to 69% uncertainty range) among 82 persons exposed in 1954 on Rongelap Atoll and Ailinginae Atoll, 10% (2.4% to 22%) for 157 persons exposed on Utirik Atoll, and 2.2% (0.5% to 4.8%) and 0.8% (0.2% to 1.8%), respectively, for the much larger populations exposed in mid-latitude locations including Kwajalein and in southern locations including Majuro.^[5]

Compensation[edit]

Since 1956, the U.S. has paid at least $759 million to Marshall Islanders as compensation for their exposure to U.S. nuclear testing. Following the Castle Bravo accident on March 1, 1954, the U.S. paid $15.3 million to Japan.^[4]

In June 1983, the U.S. and the Marshall islanders signed the Compact of Free Association, which gave the Marshall Islands independence. The Compact became effective in 1986 and was subsequently modified by the Amended Compact that became effective in 2004.^[8] It also established the Nuclear Claims Tribunal, which was given the task of adjudicating compensation for victims and families affected by the nuclear testing program. Section 177 of the compact provided for reparations to the Bikini islanders and other northern atolls for damages. It included $150 million to be paid over a 15-year period ending in 2001. During that time, payments averaging about $18 million per year were made to the peoples of Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap, and Utrik for medical and radiological monitoring, and in response to claims.^[9][10] The payments began in 1987 with $2.4 million paid annually to the entire Bikini population, while the remaining $2.6 million is paid into The Bikini Claims Trust Fund. This trust is intended to exist in perpetuity and to provide the islanders a 5% payment from the trust annually.^[10]

The United States also passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990 to allow individuals to file claims for compensation in relation to testing as well as those employed at nuclear weapons facilities.

On 5 March 2001, the Nuclear Claims Tribunal ruled against the United States for damages done to the islands and its people.^[6] The Nuclear Claims Tribunal awarded the islanders a total of $563,315,500 after deducting past awards. However, the U.S. Congress has failed to fund the settlement. The only recourse is for the Bikini people to petition the U.S. Congress to fund the payment and fulfill this award. The United States Supreme Court turned down the islanders' appeal of the United States Court of Appeals decision that refused to compel the government to fund their claim.

As of 2012, trusts remaining from the settlement produced about USD$6 to $8 million annually in investment income, and the trusts paid out about USD$15,000 per family each year in benefits.^[11]

Testing chronology[edit]

Operation Crossroads (1946)[edit]

 

The "Baker" shot of Operation Crossroads in 1946 was an underwater shot.

Main article: Operation Crossroads

The first use of the Pacific Proving Grounds was during Operation Crossroads, the first nuclear testing done after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two fission bombs, both with a yield of 21 kilotons, were tested at Bikini Atoll. "Able" was detonated at an altitude of 520 ft (158 m) on July 1, 1946, and "Baker" was detonated at a depth of 90 ft (27 m) underwater on July 25. Both tests used a flotilla of obsolete vessels from World War II with the intent of learning the effects of atomic weapons on naval fleets. The "Baker" shot created a large condensation cloud and spread much more radioactive water onto the ships than was expected; many of the surviving ships became too "hot" to be used or decontaminated and eventually had to be sunk.

Operation Sandstone (1948)[edit]

Main article: Operation Sandstone

Three weapons were detonated on the Enewetak Atoll as part of Operation Sandstone in 1948.

Operation Greenhouse (1951)[edit]

Main article: Operation Greenhouse

Four weapons were detonated on the Enewetak Atoll as part of Operation Greenhouse in 1951. Two are of particular note: Greenhouse "Item" was the first use of a boosted fission weapon, and "George" was a thermonuclear experiment designed to prove the feasibility of the Teller-Ulam design for the possibility of developing hydrogen bombs.

Operation Ivy (1952)[edit]

Main article: Operation Ivy

 

After the Ivy Mike shot, only a large crater (at left) remained of the island of Elugelab.

Two weapons were detonated at the Enewetak Atoll as part of Operation Ivy in 1952. One of them, Ivy King, was the largest pure-fission bomb ever detonated, with a yield of 500 kilotons,^[12] and the other, Ivy Mike, was the first hydrogen bomb device (it was too large to be an actual weapon), with a yield of 10.4 Mt.

Operation Castle (1954)[edit]

 

The Castle Bravo test of 1954 spread nuclear fallout across the Marshall Islands, parts of which were still inhabited.

Main article: Operation Castle

Six very large nuclear tests were conducted at the Bikini Atoll and the Enewetak Atoll as part of Operation Castle in 1954. The most notable was Castle Bravo, which was the first deployable (dry fuel) hydrogen bomb developed by the United States. Its yield, at 15 Mt, was over twice as powerful as was predicted, and was the largest weapon ever detonated by the United States. It spread nuclear fallout over a wide area, including the Enewetak Atoll, Rongerik Atoll, Ailinginae Atoll, and Rongelap Atoll. The U.S. Navy evacuated the islanders within the next few days, but many of the natives exposed suffered from cancers and a high incidence of birth defects in the years following the event. The fishermen aboard the Japanese fishing vessel, the Daigo Fukuryu Maru, were additionally exposed and one man died soon after from complications of radiation sickness, resulting in considerable international controversy.

Operation Redwing (1956)[edit]

Main article: Operation Redwing

Seventeen nuclear weapons were detonated on the Bikini and Enewetak Atolls as part of Operation Redwing in 1956. Many of them were designed to prove the feasibility of numerous thermonuclear weapon designs, with yields ranging from around 2 to 5 Mt.

Operation Hardtack I (1958)[edit]

Main article: Operation Hardtack I

Thirty-five weapons were detonated at the Bikini Atoll, Enewetak Atoll, and Johnston Island as part of Operation Hardtack I in 1958.

Operation Dominic (1962)[edit]

Main article: Operation Dominic I and II

Thirty-six weapons were detonated at sites in the Pacific Ocean in the vicinity of Christmas Island and Johnston Atoll as part of Operation Dominic I. Though these tests were not conducted in the Marshall Islands, they are officially considered part of the Pacific Proving Grounds.^[13] The portion of the Dominic series of tests that were high altitude nuclear explosions were known as Operation Fishbowl, though not all were successful (one detonated on launchpad and resulted in a substantial plutonium contamination).^[14] Two of the tests were of operational weapons systemsthe ASROC anti-submarine rocket and the Polaris SLBM (the latter test, Frigate Bird, was the only operational submarine-launched ballistic missile test with a live warhead ever undertaken by the USA).

Partial Test Ban Treaty[edit]

The signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963 forbade atmospheric and underwater nuclear weapons, and so no further U.S. tests were conducted at the Pacific Proving Grounds, with all but ten occurring at the Nevada Test Site until the end of testing in 1992.

Geographical names[edit]

The Bikini and Enewetak Atolls are each a collection of islands. Various names have been assigned to the islands over time, and the confusion over the names (and their alternate transliterations) have been the source of much confusion, and in addition, over time islands appear, disappear, separate and join, and are excavated by bombs. Here are the islands listed in clockwise fashion starting with left side of the major inlet into the lagoon in each atoll. The names include the official Marshall Island names, the American military names used after occupation through the atomic testing period, and the Japanese names used while they occupied the islands during World War II, plus names gleaned from other sources.

 

While you are at it PowerStroke, be sure to take a knee during the national anthem, because thats something else we have your ignorant party to thank for!

You see that is where you are dead wrong PowerStroker! Trump is not only "talking"... People KNOW that Trump is going to do something about North Korea, and what Trump has done in the short time in office is already way more than Obama did in his 8 years to fix this North Korea problem.

Kim is off his game, and not sure about Trump because no one has engaged him so directly.

I really don't see how the North Korean government has ANY and I mean ANY right to self preservation at the expense of other nations whom have already been down that road and know where it ends. In other words PowerStroker, I don't feel the North Koreans have any legs to stand on, they have begged for this many years... Some of the statements out of North Korea the past decade have been far-far worse than anything President Trump has said.

The main issue here will be Russia and China's hurt feelings when we go in there and deal with a mess that is in their own backyard. Regardless if they are too ignorant to see the threat, or too self absorbed to realize the nukes could just as easily be pointed at them when it fits North Korea, I don't think we should allow their incapacity to recognize and neutralize a threat interfere with our good judgement. 

People are just about 100% onboard to go into North Korea with or without China or Russia. In fact, many people are seeing this for what it is... China and Russia purposely sitting on their hands trying to game the situation. This is why the USA is and always will be #1, no one is falling for Russia and China's BS.... It won't be the first mess we had to clean up for them..

Just take places like Ukraine, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and countless others for example.. All places where the USA had to clean up after China and Russia sat on their hands and did nothing but self serve their elite. 

SELLC wrote:

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Oh, and one more thing... And I know this isn't going to sit right with you but I have to say it because it's going to be the way it's done this time around...

When we do invade North Korea I think a massive nuclear attack is appropriate given North Koreas actions.. It's clear to see that the entire nation suffers from severe Stockholm Syndrome so there will be no point in taking any prisoners...

Upon our Presidents choosing, we should nuke every major city in North Korea... Then move in our troops who will have protective gear and basically kill every last one of them trying to flea the area's which have been contaminated. Kill every single last one of them! 

Upon completion of eradicating North Korea, we should seal ALL the boarders and absolutely pillage the entire country of it's natural resources, enough to pay for our war effort and any fall out from the nuclear blast 10X over. We could also work to sell North Korea to either Russia, China, Japan or South Korea...

That is just how brutally Kim and North Korea should be dealt with. Absolute and total inhalation! Unlike in the past where we have handed over control of a country once liberated, we should monopolize on the country until we have taken a 10 fold profit... Any nation who would navigate North Korea's path be warned! You will be overthrown and sold off in pieces to the highest bidder.

I am sorry PowerStoker, but nuclear threats against me, my family, friends and countrymen and women are NOT something I will tolerate. It may roll off other peoples backs, but it does not roll off mine! 

I don't really care if North Korea feels it has the right to arm itself with Nuclear weapons... I say we have the right to stop them! AND WE WILL!

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This is exactly how Hitler felt about the Jews, it's called genocide and it's always wrong. If you don't know this by now then the Michigan public school system has failed you miserably... We should raise your taxes to increase their funding as necessary to properly educate the current generation about basic history and the evils of genocide.

SELLC wrote:

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This is ridiculous PowerStroker and quite frankly I am shocked you would lower yourself to such straw-man tactics...

There is a difference here... The Jews were never threatening to nuke the USA.

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Using Nukes will only help destroy all of us, with no real winners.

Adolf Hitler based his "ethnic cleansing" on studies being executed in both the US-of-A & the UK at the time ( 1900-30 ), based on Eugenics...This science still exists all around the world today, & manifests itself in the form of "Family Planning Centers"....

Put simply, studies of humans were taking place ( they still are very much today too ), where sterilization was inflicted to family members, after it was determined that they didn't meet "National Standards" after IQ testing, medical & family legal history results...  (And so eliminating the gene-pool & DNA of these people "contaminating" the intelligence of our species)...

With Hitler, his template or model, was that of the Aryan race. The Jewish folk did not fit this model of course, & we all know the rest of the tale. And he also did not like the "old wealth" that the Jewish folk controlled, all over the world. - ( And still very much do...Mr.Rothschild is Jewish, to use as an example ).

Stalin in Russia at the same period of time, murdered over 60,000,000 of his own people...

As a collective group of people who occupy this planet, I'd hope that after centuries of witnessing this failed train-of-thought that is in its ugliest form, genocide, we'd moved on from this, & appreciated/respected every nation & people for what they actually are, & as equal people, surviving on our little planet. It has been proven that trade between countries & people benefit the whole.

N.K. are/were only seeking RESPECT from the International community. And an equal say in what goes on in their part of the world.

The people of NK have aright to be free. They should not be wiped-out because of one mans idiocy. I start to see that this spreads quite quickly.

Yo folks,

It would seem that there maybe NO North Korea left to attack....

Latest news reveals that over 200 workers at Nth Korea's Nuclear Test Site have died, do to a tunnel collapse...This tunnel has apparently opened-up their nuclear waste storage ( or worse ), & yes, just like Japan, we're all going to get another HUGE dose of radio-nuclides...

Reports are VERY VAGUE at this stage...I'm not entirely sure what's going on.

Have a nice day,

Rastus

Check out enenews.com

You would think there would be a large amount of radioactivity concentrated in what is almost surely a weakening mountain.

If nukes work anything like normal powder explosives, I would think the surrounding rock would make the exposition even greater as it's packed. 

What we need are some good photos and stuff to get our heads around it...

Meanwhile Trump is in Asia and you can bet he is talking about North Korea...

While we're on the topic of things going KERBOOM !!!!, apparently a close-call happened at the Huntersville Nuclear Power Station...

Well, look how things have changed over the years!

And so North and South Korea are getting chummy...

Shocking, but sure beats war - don't you think?

Oh yeah, don't forget to put that little jab in there about the state department! LOL

But you're absolutely right PowerStroker, as much of a little pecker as Kim was / is, it's nice to see them getting along! 

I think it just goes to show how powerful the Olympic Games can be! A great unifying force really... That and the fact they know Trump isn't Obama.

SELLC wrote:

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News is reporting that Fat Kim made an appearance for the first time in 20 days today!

Yet all I can keep thinking is - WHO THE FUCK CARES!

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Yeah well...Someone in the media does...

He may have invented a cure for COVID-19, so maybe he wants to negotiate a price with Mr.Trumpdt ?...

SELLC wrote:

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The Wuhan COVID-19 also come from China, but just like everything out of China it's piss poor quality and has a very low death rate... but Democrats have used it as a football to destroy the economy and cause unrest prior to the election.

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WTF ?...

That sheeba must be pretty-darn-good :) !!!

PowerStroker wrote:

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There's a reason that a full third of the cases are here in the US, and it's not because of good leadership from the White House, that's for sure.

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PowerStroker, maybe you should move to China and live? That way you can report back to us about the level of speech freedoms you have! Of course we have a full third of the cases! We are actually reporting them!

Arguing with you anymore is pointless... your party sucks! You apologize to everyone so much you really have become a sorry SOB. Now your party has you backing a pedophilic pussy grabber and you're all good with that.