Another one joins the Club!

The elite but dubious club of nations possessing nuclear weapons just got another member last week when North Korea muscled its way in. It was a nightmare come true for the international community as North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion on October 9th. The country had been threatening to conduct the test over the last few weeks and it finally let the nuclear genie out of the bottle.

This incident has changed the geo-political equations in one sweep as North Korea has a fairly advanced ballistic missile program. It has missiles which are quite capable of reaching most cities in Asia and possibly the United States. This means that countries in the immediate vicinity; which are allies of the US, such as South Korea and Japan are under direct threat from the North Korean N-bomb. It now remains to be seen whether North Korea actually has the technology to miniaturise the weapon to be able to fit it on a ballistic missile.

The test was clearly aimed at unsettling the United States as the US had been increasingly upping the ante against the Communist State over the past few months. Initially the US did not openly confirm the test inspite of confirmations from neighbouring countries like Russia and South Korea. The condemnation was swift nevertheless with President Bush threatening widespread sanctions on North Korea. The official US confirmation came only today, a week after the test.

What happens now? Well, a nuclear North Korea has opened a can of worms. This will surely encourage other countries to speed up their quest to go nuclear. Another, more practical scare is the potential, clandestine export of nuclear technology from North Korea to other rogue nations. This trade will be quite tempting to the North Koreans considering the blockade on the import of almost every modern technology. This will also encourage otherwise peaceful countries like Japan and South Korea to aim for nuclear weapons if they feel threatened. Suddenly the largest continent in the world will become a ticking nuclear time bomb.

What can be done? The most obvious step that will be taken is imposing sanctions against North Korea. However, this will not achieve much except starve the already impoverished citizens of the country. Adapting a hawkish stand will only push the country further into a corner and force it to adopt an aggressive stand. The best bet would be to recognize the real dangers of a nuclear North Korea and allow it some breathing space. The need of the hour is to involve and engage the North Korean people and make them feel part of the world community. The South Koreans would have to play a major role here if this is to succeed. The US should stop its trigger happy stance and agree to sit across the discussion table. History has shown that military invasion has achieved very little. Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq are shining examples and these were not even close to possessing nuclear weapons(although Saddam Hussein did try his best). The US and the world community should work out a reasonable development package for North Korea in return for dismantling the nuclear program. The package should be comprehensive and aimed at improving the quality of life of the average North Korean. The idea should be to win over the hearts and minds of the people and not just a fancy gift meant for the elite. And the most important thing is - stay away from making threatening, rash and irresponsible comments in the media.

The last thing we want is a couple more nuclear states springing up and changing the world order forever!