WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government has determined that one scientific test, among many conducted since North Korea's announced nuclear test, was consistent with a nuclear explosion, a senior administration official said Friday night. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, cautioned that the administration has not made a definitive conclusion about the nature of the explosion.
"The betting is that this was an attempt at a nuclear test that failed," the official said. "We don't think they were trying to fake a nuclear test, but it may have been a nuclear fizzle—an effort that failed." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.
The official said the test measures a type of gas. It is one of a number of analyses conducted this week, which have not provided clarity about what North Korea detonated on Monday.
Earlier Friday, results from another test disclosed Friday—an initial air sampling—showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from a successful nuclear detonation, a U.S. government intelligence official said.
But those test results did not necessarily mean the North Korean blast was not a nuclear explosion, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the sampling results.
