Not related to cyber warfare but IMHO extremely
interesting.
How concerned should the world be about
North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme?
Most experts say the world should be very
worried. North Korea conducted two nuclear tests
in 2006 and 2009, establishing itself as the ninth
nation to possess nuclear weapons since 1945. It
today has enough plutonium to explode around eight
nuclear bombs. Last year, it emerged that it was
developing another major strand to its nuclear
programme, with the unveiling of a state-of-the
art uranium enrichment plant that could operate on
an industrial scale. The North Koreans have some
indigenous capability but may well be getting
resources from inside China.
Does North Korea also possess the ballistic
missile technology to deliver a nuclear warhead to
foreign states?
It is making good progress towards that goal.
North Korea’s ballistic missiles now have enough
range to reach much of Japan. However, experts say
North Korea is still facing a big technical
problem integrating a nuclear warhead into a
missile. Experts say the regime has still not
mastered how to ensure the warhead does not burn
up on re-entry into the atmosphere. However, it is
widely believed that North Korea should overcome
this problem within a few years.
Eight other nations have nuclear weapons.
Why should we be particularly bothered by the
fact that North Korea has them?
Most experts would probably argue that it is
unlikely North Korea would drop a nuclear weapon
on another state out of the blue. The fear,
however, is that the Pyongyang regime is paranoid
and obsessed that Washington and Seoul are bent on
its destruction. Mark Fitzpatrick of the
International Institute for Strategic Studies,
says: “The regime might use nuclear weapons
through miscalculation or because of a
misperception of threats to their own security.
It’s not the size of the programme that is the big
worry but the tendency of the regime to escalate
conflict.”
Is North Korea also exporting its nuclear
technology to other states ?
Yes. According to Mr Fitzpatrick, the other big
worry is that Pyongyang seems willing to sell
anything to anybody. It sent gasified uranium to
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya through the AQ
Khan nuclear proliferation network. It provided
Syria with the plutonium reactor that was
destroyed by Israel in 2007. It is widely thought
to have given technical co-operation to Iran’s
nuclear programme, although this has never been
proven. It has also threatened to share its
nuclear weapons technology with terrorists.
The
Financial Times Limited 2011.