North Korea and contemporary challenges to nuclear
              non-proliferation (by Arash Rowshanzamir)

Recent developments pertaining to North Korea's nuclear program are stirring up concerns both in East Asia and within the international community.

The remnants of the 'Axis of Evil' just do not seem to want to go away. Security issues in East Asia were brought to center stage early this month amid reports that North Korea had fired a short-ranged conventional missile into the Sea of Japan in an effort to not only to rejuvinate its military presence in the region, but also to send a concise message to the international community, specifically America. Coinciding with this development was Iran's announcement that it intended on lifting aspects of its ban on uranium enrichment, proving that the enforcement of nuclear non-proliferation will be considerably more difficult than originally expected.

Dealing with North Korea might be trickier than expected when one considers that the communist state has proven to be deceptive in the past - North Korea had originally signed on to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but subsequently pulled out. Regardless, it is more likely that this recent display of aggression was more a negotiating tactic utilized by North Korea in order to force concessions as opposed to a blatant threat directed against its neighbors. North Korea has, on more than one occasion, come into conflict with the international community, and although six party talks involving China, Japan, America, South Korea and Russia have already proven to be a dismal failure, North Korea has sought to use its nuclear program as an incentive for negotiation with the United States and China on issues such as financial assistance and economic integration.

North Korea initially signed on to the NPT, but eventually decided not to have its nuclear program monitored by the International Atomic Energy Association, the UN's nuclear watchdog, and subsequently kicked out IAEA inspectors in 2002. Although North Korea formally quit the treaty, it did so only after it was discovered that they violated the treaty's obligations, as it became apparent that they were covertly processing uranium and plutonium.

In February of this year, North Korea formally declared itself a nuclear power, and although this declaration was, at the time, never ratified by the IAEA, recent developments would suggest that North Korea has enough plutonium to create several nuclear bombs. In an interview with CNN, Mohammed El-Baradei, the head of the IAEA claimed that "[North Korea] had enough plutonium that could be converted into five or six nuclear weapons." Another IAEA spokesperson, Melissa Fleming, told BBC that although there was no way to directly prove that the communist state had six nuclear weapons, it wouldn't be surprising if they did.

There are new concerns amongst the international community that North Korea could be preparing to test a nuclear weapon in the near future. Many analysts, including Mr. El-Baradei himself, warn that such attempts would not only render an international calamity but would result in an environmental catastrophe as well, given that any nuclear test would most likely be carried out underground. North Korea is, of course, part of George Bush's exclusive 'Axis of Evil,' of which there are only two surviving members: North Korea and Iran. Appropriately enough, it is these two nations that are proving to be the biggest threat to nuclear non-proliferation. Aside from violations pertaining to a clandestine nuclear program, the United States also heavily criticizes North Korea on its atrocious human rights record and has even gone so far as to label the rogue state as, "an outpost of Tyranny."

This type of political confrontation has essentially become the norm as far as negotiations between the two states go. In response to American accusations, the North Korean foreign ministry responded by labeling Mr. Bush a "hooligan" and went on to describe him as a "philistine whom we [North Korea] can never deal with." Similar to the Iranian situation, there are discrepancies within the international community with regards to the most efficient method in dealing with North Korea. Both Japan and America would like to use the threat of UN sanctions to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table, whereas South Korea and China believe that such a threat might in fact be too provocative and only serve to further isolate the North.

With regards to Iran's nuclear program, the Islamic republic has recently stated that it intends to proceed with the conversion of uranium yellowcake, a product it is already in possession of, into uranium hexaflouride, a gas that is fed into centrifuges to separate the parts that will be used for the core of a nuclear weapon. And although this new development could lead to consequences in the form of UN-sanctions, it is unlikely that anything of significance will occur until after the general election, which is set to be held in mid-June.

All this comes as delegates from almost 200 nations gathered in New York at the beginning of this month to undergo a month-long review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT is a treaty that was implemented to assist in the restriction of nuclear weapons and the containment of nuclear technology. Under the NPT, a select group of nations is permitted to possess nuclear weapons, however, the NPT also claims that the transfer of nuclear technology from nuclear states to restricted states is strictly prohibited. There are five countries that are permitted by the NPT to posses nuclear weapons: USA, France, China, Russia, and the UK and it is also these five nations who are the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Although the NPT was implemented to prevent other states from obtaining nuclear weapons, India and Pakistan have already developed nuclear weapons, while Israel has decided to adopt a paradigm consisting of nuclear ambiguity, although it is widely acknowledged that Israel possesses nuclear weapons as well. The onset of the 21st century has been marked by new problems facing nuclear non-proliferation as two of the worlds more troubled nations - Iran and North Korea - are on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons.

Both North Korea and Iran have taken these measures to bolster their nuclear arsenal in order to further enhance national prestige, and to provide an added deterrent against American unilateralism. What separates the two is that North Korea already has a fully developed nuclear program that is capable of producing WMDs, whereas Iran's actual capability, motives, and intentions are still up for question. Nevertheless, recent moves made by both nations will not only result in consequences in the form of diplomatic repercussions, but will also serve to, if anything, further isolate the two nations from the international community.

Sources

"A crisis of compliance." Economist. 4 May 2005. 29 May 2005 <http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3924644>.

"Concern mounts over North Korea." BBC News. 7 May 2005. 29 May 2005 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4524477.stm.

McCurry, Justin. "North Korean missile fired towards Japan." Guardian Unlimited. 2 May 2005. 29 May 2005 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,2763,1474671,00.html>.

"North Korea 'may have six bombs'." BBC News. 9 May 2005. 29 May 2005 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4528011.stm.

Reynolds, Paul. "Iran leaves the world guessing." BBC News. 14 May 2005. 29 May 2005 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4547195.stm>.

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