North Korea wants to be an attention whore again...

North Korea decided to do this right as China-Japan and Korea-Japan relations may be finally taking a turn for the better - with the first official visit from Japan in 5 years.

I think the DPRK is the one to profit the most from the regional conflicts as it gives them cover and draws attention away from their own activities (ie the belligerence between China, Korea and Japan also helped in their boycott of the 6-party talks that aimed to put an end to North Korea nuclear plans).

And in July China was suddenly behind Japan in condemning its missile tests... so Kim Jong II seems intent on breaking off unity in the region by suddenly threatening nuclear weapon tests - which if they actually pull through would alarm Japan enough to want to push for stronger military strength in their own country, something that'd upset both China and Korea.

So the question remains whether the DPRK actually DID test a nuclear bomb or whether they simply planted some normal explosives to induce the quake. Seeing the suddenness of this threat, and the convenient time it has come in, I think there is a high probability that it was a fake (though they may conduct several more "tests" JUST to prove that they are not faking)....

Jam it back in, in the dark.