As I'm sure you are aware, North Korea has been posing quite the threat to, well, the world lately. With these nuclear bombs that they now have at their disposal and the missles that are believed to be capable of reaching the United States, who knows how they will be used? It's Deja-Vu, really. It's the Cold War all over again. Back in the 1950s, it was the Soviet Union that we were worried about as far as nukes go, and it's looking like the same thing all over again. We're trying to decide what is a bluff on the part of North Korea and what they are really willing to do, just like we had to do with the Soviet Union. Who knows, maybe historians will look back on this one day and prove that the situation is not nearly as dire as we think it is, just like what happened with the Cold War. The situation was dire, but only because each side was believing a lot of the bluffs of the other. The Soviet Union probably had no real intentions of using the nuclear bombs it had, but it was important not to ignore their threats, similarly, we were not going to strike first.
But that's the difference between the two: the Soviet Union didn't want to be blown off the map any more than we did, but North Korea doesn't seem to express that concern. Much like Fidel Castro during the Cold War, Kim Jong-Il seems to be OK with the idea of sacrificing his country for the knowledge that the majority of the United States was destroyed.
As you may have heard, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today (October 19, 2006) that the United States would stand behind South Korea if the Noth attacked, which is basically saying that the United States will use military force to keep the South out of danger. This, however, poses a new question: how will North Korea respond? They would probably take that as an act of war and so then declare war on us, which pretty much makes us fair game for any type of weapon they may decide to launch our way.
Hopefully, they won't take Rice's statement as a provocation.
She told Japan the same thing not too long ago.
South Korea is trying to play it safe, and so did not sign the Proliferation Security Initiative agreement from 2003 because it feared that it would provoke North Korea.
North Korea has also reportedly told China that it is ready to test three more nukes.
I think it is time for some quick, decisive action on the part of the UN. No declaration of war, and no invasion, but something. The UN must take action, or this threat could become a grim reality that would snowball into an all-out nuclear war. Since the subject is so touchy, however, it will take careful consideration and lots of strategic planning to pull off, but let's just hope something happens soon to assure the safety of not only the United States, but also the rest of the world from North Korean nukes.
*~Liz~*
