2008 Woodie Awards
What If... North Korean threat is nuclear in nature
Justin Lindborg, Columnist
Issue date: 10/17/06
Last Updated: 12/26/07
When President George W. Bush announced in 2002 that the civilized world faced an "axis of evil" that included Iraq, Iran and North Korea, few suspected that four years later the world would be faced with the threat of one of these powers developing a nuclear weapon with which it might enable nightmare visions of catastrophic terrorism. This new threat, however, may have been blown out of proportion. It is, after all, only one test of a vastly inferior nuclear device in an underground facility. Given that the United States has performed 1,127 nuclear tests; Russia, 969; France, 210; the United Kingdom, 45; China, 45; and India and Pakistan have conducted 13, what is one small detonation of a nuclear device by North Korea?
It would seem, then, that punishing North Korea with harsh sanctions could be seen as a hypocritical and arrogant gesture, since those countries enforcing the sanctions are the same countries which have high numbers of their own nuclear tests. In the interest of equality, suppose that North Korea were allowed to continue its nuclear program?
There are many fantastic and frightening possible roads down which this line of thought could lead. Perhaps allowing North Korea to go forward with its atomic program would provoke Iran to further its own nuclear program, triggering a series of events reminiscent of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union. This same kind of tension may also develop between Japan and China should Japan chose to use its technology to develop nuclear weapons itself.
In addition to the threat of cold wars (or hot wars for that matter), there is the concern of North Korea improperly using its new-found technology. North Korea has a history of selling military goods to other nations. According to U.S. officials and other outside sources, North Korea has sold military goods to at least 18 different countries. If North Korea is so indiscriminate in its selling of other military goods for hard currency, it is not unfathomable for it to divulge its nuclear weapons. While North Korea may not have direct ties to terrorist cells, its haphazard tendencies of leaking military goods could very well leave a potent nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist. This scenario could unleash any number of plots seen in horror films over the past half-century. If North Korea honestly cannot be trusted to keep nuclear secrets, it would be folly to allow it to continue to develop them.
What if, however, the United States and others err on the side of caution, and punish North Korea too harshly? Historically, North Korea has only pulled funds from its under-nourished populace to continue military research. Punishing North Korea too harshly could very well lead to horrible suffering of Korean citizens.
North Korea cannot be allowed to develop a full-fledged nuclear program. Although on the surface it may appear that judgment is hypocritical given the United States and other's history of nuclear testing, for security purposes it is necessary. This being said, it is imperative that the punitive measures not be too harsh, lest there be a risk of humanitarian crisis. If North Korea is prevented from furthering its nuclear endeavors, without unduly harsh measures, there is still a possibility of peace and stability among the nuclear actors in the world.
It would seem, then, that punishing North Korea with harsh sanctions could be seen as a hypocritical and arrogant gesture, since those countries enforcing the sanctions are the same countries which have high numbers of their own nuclear tests. In the interest of equality, suppose that North Korea were allowed to continue its nuclear program?
There are many fantastic and frightening possible roads down which this line of thought could lead. Perhaps allowing North Korea to go forward with its atomic program would provoke Iran to further its own nuclear program, triggering a series of events reminiscent of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union. This same kind of tension may also develop between Japan and China should Japan chose to use its technology to develop nuclear weapons itself.
In addition to the threat of cold wars (or hot wars for that matter), there is the concern of North Korea improperly using its new-found technology. North Korea has a history of selling military goods to other nations. According to U.S. officials and other outside sources, North Korea has sold military goods to at least 18 different countries. If North Korea is so indiscriminate in its selling of other military goods for hard currency, it is not unfathomable for it to divulge its nuclear weapons. While North Korea may not have direct ties to terrorist cells, its haphazard tendencies of leaking military goods could very well leave a potent nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist. This scenario could unleash any number of plots seen in horror films over the past half-century. If North Korea honestly cannot be trusted to keep nuclear secrets, it would be folly to allow it to continue to develop them.
What if, however, the United States and others err on the side of caution, and punish North Korea too harshly? Historically, North Korea has only pulled funds from its under-nourished populace to continue military research. Punishing North Korea too harshly could very well lead to horrible suffering of Korean citizens.
North Korea cannot be allowed to develop a full-fledged nuclear program. Although on the surface it may appear that judgment is hypocritical given the United States and other's history of nuclear testing, for security purposes it is necessary. This being said, it is imperative that the punitive measures not be too harsh, lest there be a risk of humanitarian crisis. If North Korea is prevented from furthering its nuclear endeavors, without unduly harsh measures, there is still a possibility of peace and stability among the nuclear actors in the world.
For this reason, The Whitworthian asks readers to be responsible and respectful in any comments posted. The responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not the whitworthian.com. Readers are also encouraged to report questionable comments by e-mailing editor@whitworthian.com.
Be the first to comment on this story