DATE=5/28/98
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-232955
TITLE=U-S / PAKISTAN NUKE MONITORING (L-UPDATE)
BYLINE=JIM RANDLE
DATELINE=PENTAGON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: U-S INTELLIGENCE AND MILITARY OFFICIALS SAY THEY ARE
TRYING TO INDEPENDENTLY DETERMINE HOW MANY NUCLEAR DEVICES
PAKISTAN SET OFF -- AND HOW POWERFUL THOSE WEAPONS ARE. V-O-A'S
JIM RANDLE REPORTS FROM THE PENTAGON.
TEXT: DEFENSE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN KEN BACON SAYS PAKISTAN'S
UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR TEST WAS DETECTED "IMMEDIATELY" BY A
GLOBE-SPANNING NETWORK OF SEISMIC SENSORS. UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR
EXPLOSIONS SHAKE THE GROUND IN WAYS THAT RESEMBLE EARTHQUAKES,
AND THEIR SEISMIC SIGNALS CAN BE MONITORED BY INSTRUMENTS
DESIGNED TO STUDY EARTHQUAKES.
WITHIN HOURS OF THE TESTS, DOZENS OF SEISMIC STATIONS REPORTED
DATA BY SATELLITE TO A CENTRAL MONITORING FACILITY NEAR
WASHINGTON. SCIENTISTS CONCLUDED THE TESTS SHOOK THE EARTH ABOUT
AS MUCH AS AN EARTHQUAKE MEASURING FOUR-POINT-NINE ON THE RICHTER
SCALE.
EXPERTS SAY A NUCLEAR TEST THAT REGISTERS FOUR-POINT-ONE ON THE
RICHTER SCALE MAKES A BLAST ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO ONE- THOUSAND
TONS OF HIGH EXPLOSIVE. NUCLEAR EXPERTS MEASURE EXPLOSIONS IN
TERMS OF THOUSANDS OF TONS -- OR KILOTONS -- OF EXPLOSIVE.
MR BACON SAYS THE EXPLOSIONS BY PAKISTAN AND INDIA ARE A
DISAPPOINTMENT, BUT NO SURPRISE.
/// BACON ACT ///
BOTH COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN WORKING ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR
SOME TIME. WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS MADE THE RELATIVELY
SMALL TECHNICAL STEP FROM DEVELOPING WEAPONS TO TESTING
THEM. IT'S A VERY LARGE POLITICAL STEP, BUT IT'S A
SMALL TECHNICAL STEP.
/// END ACT ///
A U-S INTELLIGENCE SOURCE SAYS SCIENTISTS HAVE NOT YET BEEN ABLE
TO VERIFY PAKISTAN'S STATEMENT THAT IT SET OFF FIVE DEVICES. THE
OFFICIAL SAYS IF THE WEAPONS YIELDED LESS THAN ONE KILOTON, OR IF
THEY WERE ALL SET OFF NEARLY SIMULTANEOUSLY, THEN IT IS DIFFICULT
TO ANALYZE THE RESULTING SEISMIC DATA.
// REST OPT //
MEANTIME, MR.BACON SAYS WASHINGTON WANTS PAKISTAN AND INDIA TO
PAUSE AND REFLECT ON WHAT HE CALLS THE MISTAKE OF TESTING NEW
BOMBS.
/// BACON ACT ///
OUR HOPE NOW IS THAT BOTH SIDES WILL BE ABLE TO BACK
DOWN AND SEE THE THREAT OF AN ESCALATING ARMS RACE ON
THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT AND DO THEIR BEST TO AVOID THAT.
/// END ACT ///
MR. BACON SAYS THE NUCLEAR TESTS ARE JUST ONE ASPECT OF THE
GROWING TENSION BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN. HE SAYS BOTH NATIONS
HAVE BALLISTIC MISSILES THAT CAN CARRY WARHEADS A FEW HUNDRED
KILOMETERS. HE SAYS BOTH ARE WORKING TO INCREASE THAT RANGE TO
ONE- TO TWO-THOUSAND KILOMETERS, A DEVELOPMENT HE CALLS
"WORRISOME." (SIGNED).
NEB/JR/TMD/RRM
28-May-98 5:01 PM EDT (2101 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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