Nuclear Weapons and North Korea
Introduction
North Korea is one nation that is known to possess missiles that are able to strike targets despite their distance that comprises of the mainland from the United States. The nation developed a hydrogen bomb that was able to mount it on the weapon. North Korea also has increased and active sophisticated ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs due to its ability to have biological and chemical weapons abilities. The paper hence describes the history of nuclear weapons in North Korea and its major developments.
History
The nuclear ambition of North Korea is dated back to the Korean war that occurred in the 1950s. However, in 1992 it came to the interest of the worldwide community. It was a period when the IAEA had revealed that the nuclear activities of North Korea were more widespread than acknowledged. This disclosure resulted in North Korea to withdraw itself from the agency in the year 1994. North Korea and the United States negotiated with the agreed framework to avoid its removal from the NPT. In 2002, the agreed framework was broken down. Later in 2003, North Korea withdrew from the NPT, forcing Japan, South Korea, China, United States, and Russia to involve the nation in six-party discussion to reach a diplomatic solution to the nation’s nuclear program. In 2009, the discussions broke down until 2018, where serious diplomatic initiatives were able to take place. It is evident from the summit that took place in North Korea where Kim Jong-un “reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” (North Korea Nuclear Weapons Threat | Nuclear Proliferation North Korea | NTI, 2020)
Developments
Nuclear weapons in North Korea had also had some developments. Kim Jong-un emphasized the development of missile as well as the nuclear program when it came to the outlined objects of the nation. In 2017, Kim mentioned the success of the hydrogen bomb, stating that the nation was in its “final stage of preparation for the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile” (North Korea Nuclear Technology & Nuclear Weapons Program | NTI, 2020). Therefore, in 2017, there were major developments in the ballistic missile and nuclear programs in the United States. There was also the gusty rhetoric between the president of the United States and North Korea. This led the nation to test the Hwansong-14 ballistic weapon, which later the United States established that it was an ICBM. In September of the year 2017, North Korea carried out the sixth nuclear test in a place known as Punggye-ri, which produced one hundred and forty kilotons of TNT equivalent. After the victorious test-flight that was carried out in Hwasing-15 in ICBM, the nation confirmed that it was able to “finally realize the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force” (North Korea Nuclear Technology & Nuclear Weapons Program | NTI, 2020).
Conclusion
It is hence evident that North Korea is well known in the development of nuclear weapons. Despite the many threats North Korea has faced, it has had many developments in the nuclear weapons, among which include successfully testing of the submarine-launched ballistic missile and having a space launch vehicle. It is hence evident to say that its nuclear weapon developments are due to the dedication and the nuclear programs it was involved in.
references
Nti.org. 2020. North Korea Nuclear Technology & Nuclear Weapons Program | NTI. [online] Available at: <https://www.nti.org/learn/countries/north-korea/nuclear/> [Accessed 8 October 2020].
Nti.org. 2020. North Korea Nuclear Weapons Threat | Nuclear Proliferation North Korea | NTI. [online] Available at: <https://www.nti.org/learn/countries/north-korea/> [Accessed 8 October 2020].