The Right State

I think it is obvious that North Korea’s madman, Kim Jong Il, has lost his marbles.  He announced the successful test of a nuke and I guess he thought the world would applaud his actions.  (Silly dictator, stupid tricks don’t garner applause)  China warned his government not to conduct the nuclear test and now he may have to face the UN without the help of one of their main benefactors.

China, which holds the key to whether tough U.N. sanctions will be imposed, warned North Korea Tuesday that its nuclear test would harm relations and called on the United Nations to take “appropriate measures” to get North Korea to relinquish its nuclear weapons.

Today comes word that North Korea intends on launching a nuclear tipped rocket in a not too veiled threat against the United States if the Bush administration does not concede to their demands.

The North, meanwhile, stepped up its threats aimed at Washington, saying it could fire a nuclear-tipped missile unless the United States acts to resolve its standoff with Pyongyang, the Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday from Beijing.

How long do we put up with threats from these two-bit dictators who threaten the US with nukes?  There is a reason President Bush listed North Korea among the ‘axis of evil’ along with Iraq and Iran.  He is using threats and intimidation to get what he wants.  The Clinton administration caved in to his demands and now Kim Jong Il is acting like a spoiled brat because President Bush is not giving in as well.  In his temper tantrums he is threatening to launch what many believe he does not have—nuclear bombs small enough to fit on a missile.

Even if Pyongyang is confirmed to have nuclear weapons, experts say it’s unlikely the North has a bomb design small and light enough to be mounted atop a missile. Their long-range missile capability also remains in question, after a test rocket in July apparently fizzled out shortly after takeoff.

There have been other problems as well.  The announced successful test of a nuke may not have been as successful as many think.

The explosion set off by North Korea yesterday appears to have been extremely small for a nuclear blast, complicating U.S. intelligence efforts to determine whether the country’s first such test was successful or signaled that Pyongyang’s capabilities are less advanced than expected, several senior U.S. and foreign government officials and analysts said.

A variety of seismic readings around the world yesterday appear to have resulted from no more than a half-kiloton explosion, three officials said — equivalent to 500 tons of TNT and far smaller than the 21- to 23-kiloton plutonium bomb the U.S. military dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.

It may take some days before the US will be able to determine whether it was a real atomic weapon.  The small size of the explosion could have been just 500 tons of TNT thrown into a hole.  It could have been a fizzle instead of a big bang.  Or the test could have been a partial success when a fraction of the plutonium core exploded.

In any case Kim Jong Il is threatening the United States.  Normally we could treat these threats lightly, but in the post 9/11 world, the US must take all threats seriously.  If these threatening maneuvers continue, the US may need to reconsider their response to this rogue regime.

Hat tip: Captain’s Quarters

Tags: Nuclear Weapons //