NORTH KOREA AND ITS NUCLEAR

AMBITIONS

North Korea recently declared its possession of the capabilities of

the nuclear weapons and announced its readiness to resume broken
talks that were meant to dissuade North Korea from the nuclear path.
As the very purpose of the talks being rendered useless, the talks were
naturally called off as now. The United States of America and other
countries are naturally deeply upset with the crossing of the Rubicon
by North Korea. In addition, North Korea is issuing serious warnings of
retaliation including nuclear war against any aggressive actions
against it by any country, the warnings primarily meant to South
Korea, Japan and the United States of America, and issuing photos of
its supremo, Kim Jong II leading his Generals in provocative manner.
North Korea’s present stature as a de facto nuclear power with its
missile capabilities pose real danger to the United States of America
across the Pacific Ocean apart from posing mortal danger to the
existence to South Korea and working as a constant irritant to Japan.

North Korea is an enemy of the United States of America since

the days of the Korean War of the 1950s during the height of the Cold
War. It is now natural to expect some kind of pro-active action by the
United States of America to neutralise North Korea to re-establish a
kind of power balance and safeguard its interests in this part of Asia
apart from making its own security foolproof from across the Pacific
Ocean. Removal of the Kim Jong II regime may be a soft option. The
North Korean supreme is already in extremely bad health.

It is surmised that North Korea possesses at least eight nuclear

bombs. Apart from it being a direct threat to the United States of
America, nuclear weapons or its technology being transferred to any of
the numerous terrorist groups like the Al-Qaeda operating against the
civilized world pose greater threat to the security of the world. North
Korea openly claimed that it was a potential fear if North Korea is
harmed in any way.

Neither Russia nor China is comfortable with the nuclear North

Korea though all three belong to the Communist bloc and both are
parts of the international efforts and talks held with the North Korea to
dissuade it from the nuclear path. Indeed these countries are less
aggressive against North Korean nuclear ambitions and do not favour
the fall of the Kim Jong II regime there.

North Korea separated from South Korea after a quite violent

history of war that threatened to become the harbinger of the Third
World War in 1950s. South Korea with the help of the United States of
America became a respected industrial power of Asia on par with Japan
and Taiwan while North Korea under the Communist regime languished
in this respect. It now wants to make up the loss of time and come
back in the international arena by becoming a nuclear power.

Blockade of North Korea is an option open for the world to force

the country to fall in line with the world opinion, as shortage of food
and other essential commodities is acute there. Communist countries
naturally will resist any such measures against their brethren that hurt
the interests of the common man there. World is watching how
President Obama with all his well intended peace protestations would
tackle this grave issue of nuclear threat while duty bound to protect
the interests of the United States of America at any costs.
 The average North Korean following the ethnic features of the
Koreans and other people of the region is well below the average
height and weight for his age. The height and weight of a North Korean
child is also less than average for its age.

North Korean entrepreneurs as well as common men as those in

most other Communist countries prefer to migrate to neighbouring
countries like China, Japan and South Korea or other western countries
to work and earn money. South Korea facilitated mass employment to
North Korean workers in industries at its border with North Korea by
providing easy transit facilities across the border daily. South Korea is
trying to make friends with North Korea and offered to provide two
million megawatts of electricity to nearly double its output if it stops its
efforts at nuclear weapons. The United States of America backed this
plan. North Korea is in dire need of this electricity, as its present
production hardly suffices to provide three to four hours of electricity
every day. But, North Korea was not willing to barter its nuclear option
for the electricity. Defence forces of the United States of America man
the South Korean borders with the North Korea since the Korean War of
the 1950s and it is a big irritant to North Korea.

The Korean peninsula was formerly one nation in early 1950s.

The threat of Korea going Communist inspired internal conflict in the
country in early 1950s and led to the Korean War with the United
States of America and its western allies militarily supporting the
resistance while the Communist bloc with the then USSR and China in
lead solidly backing the Communist take-over of the peninsula. This
was while the Cold War was at its height at its nascent stage and the
war ended with Korea being divided to two halves as North Korea in
possession of the Communist Koreans and South Korea in possession
of those Koreans who championed the cause of democracy in Korea.
However, hostile feelings between the countries continued unabated.