N. Korea in Bid to Become Nuclear State
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
North Korea conducting a second nuclear test and test-firing a short range surface-to-air missile has revealed its intent to demand nuclear state status, according to North Korea experts Monday.
They interpreted that the North carried out the provocative act, as previously threatened on several occasions, in an attempt to press the United States into giving more concessions in future direct negotiations.
Their comments came hours after the North's Korean Central News Agency announced Monday that the North ``successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test Monday as part of measures to bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense.''
``When it comes to the North's motive, it is apparent that North Korea wants to become a de facto nuclear state,'' Rep. Park Jin of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) told The Korea Times.
Under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), five countries that tested nuclear devices before 1967 ― the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China ― are called nuclear states.
Meanwhile, countries such as India, Pakistan and Israel are nuclear states that remain outside the NPT. If the North becomes another, it would remain outside the treaty just like those countries.
Prof. Yoo Ho-yeol of Korea University's Department of North Korean Studies expressed a similar view on the communist state's motive in a phone interview with The Korea Times.
``Earlier, the North made public its plan to bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense on several occasions. But the U.S. government and the international community were not responsive to the threat,'' said Yoo.
By going for what the North called action, Yoo said it intended to motivate the U.S. government to seek negotiations to discuss comprehensive issues.
``The North was not quite satisfied with the results of the first nuclear test conducted in 2006, which defense analysts said was a failure. Therefore it would have felt that it needed a second test to demonstrate its strong nuclear capability,'' the professor said.
Rep. Park Sun-young of the minority Liberty Forward Party (LFP) said she was not surprised by the latest development because the North simply followed through on the action plan it had announced before.
``If it becomes a nuclear state, the North calculates that it can gain a lot in future negotiations with the United States. This probably drove Pyongyang to conduct the nuclear test,'' she said.
Their observation leads to the obvious question: Will the international community recognize North Korea as a nuclear state?
Rep. Park of the GNP forecast that South Korea, the U.S. government and other countries would never recognize it as such.
Non-proliferation experts said if the international community recognizes the North as a nuclear power, it would serve to encourage other states to seek a similar threat which would ultimately create a more dangerous world.
``South Korea, in collaboration with the international community such as the United Nations, should take stern measures against the North and condemn it for the provocative act,'' Park said.