Threat from North Korea

The threat from nuclear proliferation (which I discussed in my post last week) is quite strong from North Korea, a state that has made headlines through the past couple of years. At the time of writing this post, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) issued a statement which expressed a 'grave concern' regarding North Korea's missile launches. North Korea, according to Nikitin (2012), has around 50kg of plutonium which could be used to create at least 6 nuclear weapons, many of which can be used to attack it's arch rival South Korea at will. The start of North Korea's nuclear program can be traced back to around 1956 where Soviet assistance helped the country to set up it's first nuclear reactors. Another striking news investigation report surfaced in 2002 by the New York Times which claimed that Pakistan supplied the North Korean government equipment such as centrifuges and uranium which was crucial in the development of it's nuclear program. If such reports are correct, then this is a massive embarrassment in the face of nuclear non-proliferation and a key failure of international institutions in their attempt to regulate nuclear trade around the world.

Map of North Korea's nuclear facilities 

The striking thing is that North Korea has the capability to produce both uranium and plutonium weapons - plutonium is considered to be more strong than uranium. Despite repeated trade embargoes and sanctions placed by organisations and countries, North Korea has not halted it's nuclear program. Instead, it has repeatedly provoked South Korea (who does not possess nuclear weapons) by threatening it with nuclear attacks through speeches and loud speaker broadcasts. Not only that, but it has provoked it's neighbour militarily through regular shelling and military drills (see the timeline below). 

North Korea's history of provocation

In a analysis of media sources, Park (2013), writing for the Journal of Media and Communication Studies argues that the level of nuclear threat posed by North Korea has often been exaggerated by the mainstream media outlets that are present. I personally disagree with this study, as military provocations and regular speeches by Kim-Jong-Un, the leader of North Korea, are certainly not exaggerated by the media - in fact these are credible threats that would shock any country around the world. The fear is that countries such as Japan and South Korea, countries that have been threatened by North Korea, might be forced to start their own nuclear programmes (Hughes 2007). If that is the case, then surely this is a downward spiral towards greater insecurity and risk - both of which will undermine the positive uses of nuclear energy that I will discuss later in my blog.