North Korea\'s Becoming the Ninth

¶ … North Korea's becoming the ninth nuclear state so alarming?

The Cold War left an important legacy for the international political scene to deal with. The matter of nuclear weapons is indeed one of major concern for foreign policy makers around the world. It raises the question between the legitimate right to posses nuclear technology used in peaceful means, as stipulated by the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the inherent fear of what this might represent in the volatile framework of the post Cold War era and more recently in the light of the 9/11 events. This dilemma can be seen as summarizing the official arguments made by all sides involved in North Korea's nuclear file. On the one hand, there is the communist regime which vehemently invokes its legitimate right to develop nuclear technology; on the other hand, there is the U.S. Republican Administration which is constantly against any direct and bilateral negotiation talks with the regime from Pyongyang until the latter takes visible and repented actions to defuse its nuclear intentions.

The tests conducted by North Korea on October 9, 2006 came to few as a complete surprise. Even more, they are considered by most specialists in the field as the ultimate and most expected proof of the deadlock the negotiations with the Korean side are in. (Pinkston, 2006) Technically the test in itself was not one of major proportions, although neighboring countries each give different accounts of their analysis. Thus, the South Koreans' indicators pointed to an explosion of less than a kiloton in power, while the Russians suggested the explosion was between 5 and 15 kilotons. (Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, 2006) Nonetheless, it is not the dimension of the test that really matters, but rather the political message it tried to convey in the context of the current tensions between the parties engaged in the negotiation process.

The aim of the discussions on the nuclear proliferation issue is to halt the increase in membership of the select club represented by those possessing the nuclear bomb and from this perspective the issue of North Korea possessing the military capability to develop nuclear technology is indeed a worrying thought. In 1998, both India and Pakistan proved to the world their nuclear intentions. Even so, the two countries did not steer that much controversy, mostly because, according to analysts, they lack the capabilities and financial support for actually representing a threat in the near future. In the Korean case however, the intentions have been clearly stated out in the diplomatic circles and there are reasons for concerns. Although various, they mostly revolve around the ambiguous nature of the leadership of Kim Jung Il. Firstly, he is seen as a dictator and one of the last posts of the communist regime by most of the western world. Therefore, the power given by the possession of a nuclear device is indeed a worrying perspective, considering the fact that the Korean leader is known for his opaque foreign policy. At the same time, the Western countries are worried by the latest tests also in the light of the 9/11 events, which reshaped the perspective from which we tend to view threats. Thus, it is possible that the technology used by the North Koreans to reach third parties, such as terrorist organizations. If a state's bellicose intentions to some extent can be controlled through sanctions and even military strikes, in the case of non-state actors, this is practically impossible, as the recent experiences involving especially Al Qaeda have shown. Therefore, in such a situation, the international system would indeed become rather unstable and subject to constant threats.