North Korea’s bluster and threats are becoming more serious. Armed with a military that is approaching a serious capability to launch nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, the belligerence and irrationality of its leadership can no longer be safely ignored. The hope that China would restrain Pyongyang’s atomic weapons development proved unfounded.
Yesterday, Mr. Obama met with South Korean President Pak. The U.S. President commended both her “and the people of South Korea for the resolve … displayed this summer following North Korea’s reckless actions in the DMZ …” President Pak responded by noting that “ with a sense of urgency and firm commitment, we have agreed to strengthen diplomatic efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem. On the basis of Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, we will strengthen coordination among the other five parties, while Korea and the United States will deepen consultations with other countries, including China.”
North Korea is estimated to have 20 nuclear weapons, double prior estimates. In addition to concerns about its own willingness to use those weapons, the potential of proliferation is quite high. It is known that North Korea has shared advanced military technology with Iran, and the possibility that it would provide a nuclear device to terrorist groups exists.
According to the Pentagon “North Korea and its unpredictable leader are U.S. Pacific Command’s biggest worries,” Navy Adm. Harry Harris Jr. stated on October 10. Harris has commanded U.S. Pacific Command since May. “At some point in the future, [as it develops its capability], North Korea will present a very real threat to Hawaii and the rest of the United States.”
Provocation by North Korea is a key reason why Harris welcomes Japan’s decision to play a greater role in regional security. He said he will do all he can to look for ways for South Korea, Japan and the United States to collaborate.
In a statement reported in the Telegraph, the North Korean Atomic Energy Institute states that it is prepared to utilize “nuclear weapons any time” in response to American activity it perceives as threatening. The Telegraph notes that Atomic Energy Institute officials believe “Pyongyang has improved its nuclear weapons capability by steadily improving the levels of nuclear weapons … in quality and quantity.”
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The latest Nuclear Threat Initiative organization report summarizes the nation’s mature programs both for nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction: North Korea “has an active nuclear weapons program and tested nuclear explosive devices in 2006, 2009, and 2013. It is also capable of enriching uranium and producing weapons-grade plutonium. North Korea deploys short- and medium-range ballistic missiles and successfully launched a long-range rocket in 2012. North Korea is also believed to possess biological and chemical weapons programs.
“Pyongyang unilaterally withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in January 2003 and is not a party to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) or a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The DPRK is not a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and is believed to possess a large chemical weapons program. North Korea is a party to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and Geneva Protocol, but is suspected of maintaining an offensive biological weapons program in defiance of that treaty.”
North Korea’s armed might is far more than just its nuclear muscle. The regime, according to Globalfirepower has a large army with 4,200 tanks, 4,100 other armored fighting vehicles, 2,250 self-propelled guns, 4,300 pieces of towed artillery, and 2,400 multiple launch rocket systems. Its air force boasts 940 planes, its navy, 1,061 vessels.
Besides its atomic prowess, the National Interest emphasizes its vast artillery capabilities:
“North Korea has a prodigious amount of artillery, especially long-range artillery pieces. One of the major concerns about a North-South war is that the North would be able to unleash a devastating artillery barrage on the South Korean capital of Seoul. Such an attack, by thousands of artillery pieces on a population of 24,000,000 is widely believed to be capable of killing hundreds of thousands of civilians and “flattening” Seoul in the span of half an hour.”