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Cheap and Dirty Bombs VOICE, Could these creepy chest packs be North Korea’s way of threatening radiological war? BY WILLIAM C. POTTER , JEFFREY LEWIS FEBRUARY 17, 2014 During North Korea’s July 2013 “Victory Day” parade, spectators were treated to a curious sight: a truckload of soldiers, each strapped into a chest pack festooned with the black and yellow radiation symbol. A few months later, the art world preserved the spectacle. British tour operator Simon Cockerell foundoil paintings at a Pyongyang tourist shop depicting a North Korean commando team parachuting into enemy territory carrying the enigmatic satchels.

The parade images and oil paintings suggest commando-delivered nuclear-related devices of some sort — an understanding consistent with North Korean defectors, who have suggested that the country might possess “backpack” nuclear devices. The United States developed similar munitions, and rumors persist about Russian suitcase nuclear weapons. Few experts, however, believe that North Korea could make a miniature nuclear charge the size of the packs seen in Pyongyang. Given that North Korea appears to be struggling to manufacture the sort of 1,000-kilogram nuclear weapon small enough for delivery by ballistic missile, with only three nuclear tests, backpack nukes seem out of reach.Another popular explanation for the ominous backpacks is that they are filled with hazmat suits or Geiger counters and belong to a radiological-chemical reconnaissance unit, which wears these defensive suits in contaminated areas. But given the size of the pack compared with the proposed contents, this explanation also seems unlikely.

The one possibility that has been largely overlooked is that this nuke-themed accessory might have been North Korea’s way of conveying the possibility of its use of radiological dispersal devices, better known as “dirty bombs.”………..http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/02/17/cheap_and_dirty_bombs