Questions about North Korea's nuclear test
#1: What exactly did North Korea detonate?
No one knows for sure, at this point. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the explosion was one kiloton or less in strength, whereas most nuclear powers' first nuclear tests have been in the range of 10 to 60 kilotons. Some experts have suggested that the detonation could have been heavy conventional explosives, while others have said that it was almost certainly a nuclear weapon. [NTI] It will take at least several days to confirm whether the bomb was nuclear or not. [Washington Post]
#2: What are the implications of a nuclear North Korea?
At this point, we have to assume the bomb was nuclear. But even if it was a nuclear bomb, experts believe that North Korea is far from having the technology to put nuclear bombs into a missile.
But whether North Korea has battle-ready nuclear weapons is not really the issue here. The South Korean government - which believes that the bomb was indeed a nuclear weapon - said that it believes Pyongyang's goal was to "secure the status of a de facto nuclear state." [NTI]
Washington's biggest concerns are that a nuclear North Korea could trigger a new arms race among the Pacific Rim countries, and impact weapons negotiations with other problem countries. For example, Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), chairman of the House International Relations subcommittee on Asia, said that it could "encourage Iran to harden its stance in negotiations over its own reported nuclear program and make it difficult to stop North Korea from marketing weapons to 'undesirable parties.' " On a positive note, China - North Korea's closest ally - condemned the Stalinist country's claimed nuclear test. [Washington Post]
#3: What should the U.S. government do about it?
Well, that depends on whether the bomb turns out to be nuclear or not, but in the mean time, U.N. Ambassador John Bolton seems to appreciate the signficance of getting the entire international community on board this time around. Given China's traditional alliance with North Korea, it remains to be seen whether the U.S. can get the world's largest communist country to support embargo proposals. [Washington Post]
No one knows for sure, at this point. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the explosion was one kiloton or less in strength, whereas most nuclear powers' first nuclear tests have been in the range of 10 to 60 kilotons. Some experts have suggested that the detonation could have been heavy conventional explosives, while others have said that it was almost certainly a nuclear weapon. [NTI] It will take at least several days to confirm whether the bomb was nuclear or not. [Washington Post]
#2: What are the implications of a nuclear North Korea?
At this point, we have to assume the bomb was nuclear. But even if it was a nuclear bomb, experts believe that North Korea is far from having the technology to put nuclear bombs into a missile.
But whether North Korea has battle-ready nuclear weapons is not really the issue here. The South Korean government - which believes that the bomb was indeed a nuclear weapon - said that it believes Pyongyang's goal was to "secure the status of a de facto nuclear state." [NTI]
Washington's biggest concerns are that a nuclear North Korea could trigger a new arms race among the Pacific Rim countries, and impact weapons negotiations with other problem countries. For example, Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), chairman of the House International Relations subcommittee on Asia, said that it could "encourage Iran to harden its stance in negotiations over its own reported nuclear program and make it difficult to stop North Korea from marketing weapons to 'undesirable parties.' " On a positive note, China - North Korea's closest ally - condemned the Stalinist country's claimed nuclear test. [Washington Post]
#3: What should the U.S. government do about it?
Well, that depends on whether the bomb turns out to be nuclear or not, but in the mean time, U.N. Ambassador John Bolton seems to appreciate the signficance of getting the entire international community on board this time around. Given China's traditional alliance with North Korea, it remains to be seen whether the U.S. can get the world's largest communist country to support embargo proposals. [Washington Post]
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