[Updates to the two posts below]

So, what went on in North Korea? Was it a nuclear test, an industrial accident or something more mundane?

The blast supposedly occurred on Thursday, September 9, a date which marks the anniversary of North Korea.

Sean Hackberth was able to dig up a few seismographs, all of which show something unusual happening on 9/9 at about 9:00am (PST).

While agencies in North Korea are denying that any explosion that occurred was nuclear in origins, there are still no explanations for the unusual activity or the fact that many witnesses reported seeing a "strange" or "mushroom" cloud, which raises many questions, especially when you consider that [t]he explosion appeared to be stronger than an April 22 blast that killed more than 150 people and wounded about 1,300 others in Ryongchon near the western tip of North Korea's border with China.

While many are claiming there was no nuclear explosion, the New York Times reports it this way:

President Bush and his top advisers have received intelligence reports in recent days describing a confusing series of actions by North Korea that some experts believe could indicate the country is preparing to conduct its first test explosion of a nuclear weapon, according to senior officials with access to the intelligence.

[...]

One official with access to the intelligence called it "a series of indicators of increased activity that we believe would be associated with a test," saying that the "likelihood" of a North Korean test had risen significantly in just the past four weeks....The activities included the movement of materials around several suspected test sites, including one near a location where intelligence agencies reported last year that conventional explosives were being tested that could compress a plutonium core and set off a nuclear blast. But officials have not seen the classic indicators of preparations at a test site, in

Or have they?

However, here we have someone who doesn't buy the nuclear test theory, citing seismic data that is contrary to reports. He also mentions that BBC is reporting that it may have just been a forest fire that people were witnessing.

This person compares the data on the seismographs to earthquakes and comes up with nuclear test.

We'll keep updating on this one until (if) there is some sort of conclusion.

[some links via Allah Pundit]

More here and here.

UPDATE:

Well, now we're getting to the bottom of this. It's all part of the October Surprise!