You can’t really from the point of view of being one of the original Big Five nuclear powers, which, coincidentally make up the permanent members of the security council of the UN, and tell the rest of the world what to do. But this is of course coincidental and anyone who thinks that nuclear weapons bring with them any increase of global stature is misreading this coincidence with possible dangerous repercussions…
They brought stature, when they where new, but its like people now inviting the friends and family round with lots of bravado because they have one of the new Colour TVs, and would we like to watch a television Program
Korea, probably only has a few nukes, and they are most likely small, rudimentary and not sophisticated enough to be attached to one of their equally crude missiles. Note the ever-present caveats. As with Saddam four years ago, we do not know, and there in lies the problem, and for the Koreans, the advantage. They only need us to believe they have them, and loads of them. What Saddam achieved by Gassing a village 15 years ago, Korea can achieve with series of nuclear tests, they could use all but one of their nukes, and would never know. The Korean government, the only one still cast as an easy and reliable bad guy in films such as Bond etc, is no fool. However many Nukes it has it is using them to their best effect, and to gain the most from it.
This does not, and could never involve an actual attack, which would justify retaliation of no doubt brutal and decisive kind… but gentle, nudging, manipulation, if you will… Neither will it make the Saddam erro of nuking its own people, in these days on “humanitarian intervention”, that too, would bare risks that would outweigh the benefits.
But Korea is pushing this strategy aggressively, already threatening a second test, and saying any sanctions will be treated as an act of war. They are scraggy bounty hunter, with the Thermo detonator scream, “I gonna fuckin’ do it, I’m NUTS!!! Really! try me…” and then beginning to play Russian roulette with themselves…
This is working an absolute treat, any consensus the UN had before has dissipated into hesitancy and confusion. Hmmming and Ahhing to the Nth degree. Thusly it seems ever more likely that in true UN fashion anything that comes out of New York is likely to be washy and lack teeth and meaning.
The threatened second test will of course take place. What may well follow that is something other than an underground test. Either an atmospheric or ground test, will provide the images and the mushroom cloud needed to push the public fear of US and our free press through the roof.
After France did it’s last test underground we’re kind of used to nice safe underground nuclear tests, the nuke became almost friendly again, yeah sure, we would have prefer they had not done it, But Hey, you know, its ok really, and we all enjoyed watching it on TV.
Pakistan, the last country to join the Nuclear club did it’s first test above ground, but in mountains, all we got to see by way of proof was a murky mist rolling out of the masses of rock, we did not see the actual blast… and lets be honest, if fuckheads with egos are really going to have to blow up possibly the most toxic stuff on the planet, then we, as citizens of the world- we reserve the right to watch…
But, back to topic in hand… North Korea now have the biggest negotiating chip there is, where-as Pakistan devolved the Nuclear bomb to deter India, its hostile neighbour and long time nuclear armed foe: North Korea, as well as having to show its leader as strong and victorious for persisting with a failed experiment in People’s Power which is anything but, has no ensured that no-one, other than the USA will ever threaten its position in the region. Even China is wary, it raised this fledgling Communist nation, and is now slightly worried about what its malnourished chav offspring is truly capable of.
But NK has also been watching as the bends and buckles and has rings run round it by the more wily Iranian government as they peruse what could quite possibly be a genuine route towards Nuclear Power, but probably isn’t. Either way the international community needs to be decisive in its treatment of Korea, and take the long view. The battle to stop Pyongyang acquiring the bomb has been lost. What the reaction to that loss will dictate is whether, and how many more times, we must go through this too little too late response to this brutal and antiquated weaponry.
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