Global Breaking News - Monday, December 23, 2024

Nuclear Neighbors for North Korea?
North Korea declared the 1953 Korean War armistice nullified on Monday, in the wake of growing threats from the country’s leader Kim Jong-un directed last week at South Korea and the United States and the United Nations Security Council decision to in retaliation to its third nuclear test in February. A new sense of vulnerability is leading some South Koreans to call for the development of its own nuclear weapons program. Its neighbor Japan could easily build up a nuclear arsenal. Will North Korea’s threats and continued testing cause more proliferation in the region?
* armistice = 휴전(협정)/ nullify = 무효화하다/ in the wake of ~ = ~에 뒤어어(~을 뒤따라)/ in retaliation to ~ = ~에 대한 보복으로/ vulnerability = 취약성, 약점이 있음/ call for ~ = ~을 필요로 하다/ proliferation = 급증, 확산

 북한의 협박과 계속되는 (미사일) 실험은 주변 국가에 더 많은 (핵)확산을 야기시킬까요?

1. China, Japan and South Korea’s Turn
The U.S. has provided stalwart leadership in Asia since World War II, but good leaders develop new ones.
 
2. Seoul’s Nuclear Weapon Is the U.S.
Turning to nuclear weapons would isolate South Korea and damage its economy while doing little to make it more secure.
 
3. China Must Weigh Its Options
If Kim Jong-un and his arsenal remain, China’s great fear that Japan and South Korea will acquire nuclear weapons becomes more likely.
 
4. For South Korea, It’s Unrealistic
The more important question: Does President Obama have a clear North Korea policy, or even an interest in developing one?
 
5. For Japan, There Are Other Options
The likely scenarios for a North Korean attack on Japan don't require a nuclear response.
 
6. The U.S. and Its Allies Need a Strong Defense
Since diplomatic efforts have failed to curb North Korea’s reckless behavior, the U.S. and its allies need strong military forces to protect themselves.


Sample Essay

Seoul’s Nuclear Weapon Is the U.S.

North Korea’s recent nuclear test was followed by a threat that it might “exercise the right to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors.” Some prominent South Koreans have called for U.S. tactical weapons to be returned to South Korea, and some believe that a South Korean nuclear arsenal is the only way to negotiate a "grand bargain" with Pyongyang. North Korean threats must be countered by Washington and Seoul, but not by the U.S. deploying tactical nuclear weapons, nor by Seoul developing its own nuclear arsenal.

Although Pyongyang’s third nuclear test will allow it to eventually make smaller nuclear weapons to mount on missiles, it does not fundamentally change the security threat North Korea poses. Pyongyang may become more provocative, but it has very little plutonium and highly enriched uranium, limited nuclear test experience, and limited success in testing its long-range missiles. In contrast, the U.S. has hundreds of sophisticated nuclear weapons that can be deployed on submarines, fighter jets and bombers in range of North Korea. This is the nuclear protection that South Korea has and should continue to rely on.

U.S. security guarantees that protect its allies from any attack by North Korea, nuclear or conventional, are made credible by the strength of our close political alliance and the presence of 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea. Pyongyang should be reminded that any use of nuclear weapons would lead to immediate and violent crippling of its military power and the end of their regime. Washington should also expedite its cooperation with Seoul to strengthen regional air and ballistic missile defenses for additional assurance.

There is little to be gained by South Korea going nuclear, but there is much to lose. Seoul chose the path of peaceful nuclear electricity over bombs several decades ago. Today, North Korea has a handful of bombs, but its economy is in shambles and it is isolated internationally. In contrast, South Korea is a global industrial powerhouse and strong U.S. trade partner. Turning to nuclear weapons would isolate Seoul and damage its economy while doing little to make it more secure.