Bombed, Yes. Bombs, No.

We’ve learned two things about Kim Jong Il recently. While the average North Korean survived on $1,000 a year, Ol Dirty Il Bastard personally spent $800,000 a year on his favorite Cognac. Until, that is, the sanctions hit, and he had to start guzzling cheaper fuels. Well, that may in fact have been his motivation for faking a nuclear test, and then, this February 14, leveraging a massive $330 million economic aid package, in exchange for halting his nuclear program.

Yes, that big North Korean nuclear explosion last year was a failure, according to the head of the CIA. And according to Russian intelligence officers, it was not only a failure, but a straight up fake. The Russians are still trying to figure out how they pulled it off. And it has contributed to a bombshell story also slipping out of Russian intelligence circles: Russia is about to pull the plug on Iran’s nuke aims. This will be one of my next two stories.

As for the CIA statement on North Korea:

Just over a week ago, on March 28, CIA Director Michael Hayden told South Korean media “The United States does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. It’s because the nuclear test last year was a failure.” His comment was first published in the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper.

So, for better or for worse, Los Angeles is probably safe from attack.