North’s ridiculous posturing

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North’s ridiculous posturing

North Korea has challenged international society once again. When the United Nations Security Council asked North Korea to explain why it violated UN resolutions, it did not present any excuses. Instead, it resorted to provocative language, increasing a nuclear threat.

Pyongyang has revealed that tests to make weapons using plutonium and uranium were successful and has made clear that it will face any sanctions with “strengthened nuclear control.” The attitude of North Korea is ridiculous. Its actions are like a wild child waving a weapon, cutting himself and creating a scene in the marketplace.

It is a shame because North Korean people would not have to starve anymore if the government thought about how it could make a better living with the budget that goes into developing nuclear weapons.

It appears as if sanctions against North Korea are based on its own calculated methods. North Korea said it has linked its nuclear armament to what it regards as a hostile North Korea policy pursued by United States. It also said the United States should meet the demands of North Korea at negotiations to advance denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the world.

The unique point about the recent incident is that North Korea went further than just the Korean Peninsula and mentioned “world denuclearization.” The claim was aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama, who is pursuing international denuclearization. Success of the uranium tests was mentioned as a subtle threat, showing it could pursue the development of uranium nuclear weapons, which are more difficult to observe and trace than plutonium nuclear weapons.

North Korea may have appeared with new uranium nuclear developments, but its actions are not new. It says it is not against denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula or the world, but secretly it has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons. The fact that North Korea has always found an excuse for nuclear armament and has actively pursued such a program for almost 20 years proves this point.

If we take our eye off the ball, tensions could rapidly rise on the Korean Peninsula. We need to show that we will always stand firm and we need to demand evidence that the North is genuine about denuclearization.

Neglecting North Korean nuclear armament is likely to turn into a bigger problem for South Korea and international society. The only solution is for North Korea to quit its nuclear weapons program through compromise, a concept the communist country is not familiar with, but should be.
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