Are they trying to scare us?

I'm being hunted all over campus in a game of Zombies vs. Humans here at Cornell, so perhaps all this is just collateral paranoia. But the conflicting reports on whether or not North Korea really set off a nuclear bomb or not, plus the very small yield of the bomb (far less than the Hiroshima bomb, logically the least advanced nuke ever detonated) is making me wonder whether both the governments of North Korea and the United States are hyping up the DPRK's nuclear capabilities to cause fear. First, the conflicting reports:OK, well, that's exciting. (If it's compressed too much, the top headline says "North Korea: Radioactive Debris Found in US Test" and the bottom one says "Official: No Radioactive Particles Found".)

Now, the question of "is it crazy to believe the government would hype something up or lie". No. I don't believe that the government perpetrated 9/11, but many instances of the government lying to or concealing things from us have already been documented (in other words, everything classified, and the various propaganda machines that have been openly set up in times of "national emergency"), even though, since they are our employees, we ought to know everything they do.

Maybe I'm just being crazy. But I'd like independent, non-governmental confirmation of radioactive debris before anything is done regarding North Korea. (Obviously it's too late for that, but folks can dream, can't they?)