Your Saturday "What If"....What if N. Korea hits a major Western city with a dirty bomb?

via NRC Fact Sheet (here).

A "dirty bomb" is one type of a radiological dispersal device (RDD) that combines conventional explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive material. The terms dirty bomb and RDD are often used interchangeably in the media. Most RDDs would not release enough radiation to kill people or cause severe illness - the conventional explosive itself would be more harmful to individuals than the radioactive material. However, depending on the situation, an RDD explosion could create fear and panic, contaminate property, and require potentially costly cleanup. Making prompt, accurate information available to the public may prevent the panic sought by terrorists.

A dirty bomb is in no way similar to a nuclear weapon or nuclear bomb. A nuclear bomb creates an explosion that is millions of times more powerful than that of a dirty bomb. The cloud of radiation from a nuclear bomb could spread tens to hundreds of square miles, whereas a dirty bomb’s radiation could be dispersed within a few blocks or miles of the explosion. A dirty bomb is not a “Weapon of Mass Destruction” but a “Weapon of Mass Disruption,” where contamination and anxiety are the terrorists’ major objectives.

Consider this your assignment while I finally get this podcast together.  What if the N. Koreans have a contingency plan.  They can watch the news just like we do.  They surf the net and although I doubt they're reading my blog I'm sure there are other blogs that are speculating on a possible allied/US attack on them possibly this winter when their soldiers will be at a severe disadvantage.

What if they go halfway with their ICBM, that according to many sources can now reach the US, and instead of going for a full up nuclear weapon they instead install a dirty bomb on the end of it?

I don't know what kind of yield they would need or how heavy it would be and even if the rocket they have could carry one that would render a population center unlivable but is it a possibility?

Could we all be missing the reality of this situation?

The fact that the N. Koreans could fire off a salvo of missiles and contaminate Los Angeles, San Diego or Seattle for a couple of years....or cost trillions of dollars in clean up and cause a major population center to empty itself making a couple million or more US citizens refugees in their own country?

Surely our policy makers have wargamed this possibility right?  They have to be ahead of the curve on this don't they?