Blog Entry #2

Title: North Korea non-compliance with U.N. nuclear guidelines

Summary: It is no new news to most people that North Korea has been non-compliant and stubborn when ever it comes to the topic of nuclear technology. On multiple occasions there have been reports of underground nuclear weapon tests and nearby earthquakes. In May of 2009 North Korea made a public announcement that they had successfully tested a Nuclear warhead with the approximate power of the bombs that were used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Clearly worried, the UN viewed this as a major issue of international importance. Even North Korea's ally, China, expressed that it was "resolutely opposed" to the tests. Russian Defense experts say that the explosion was between 10 and 20 Kilotons. 1 Kiloton is equal to the explosive force of about 1,000 tons of TNT.

Evidence: When North Korea set off their warhead, the tremor was felt all the way on the Chinese border. The earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 4.5 on a scale of 1-10. When confronted about the event North Korean representatives stated that the test "will contribute to defending the sovereignty and safety of the country and the nation and socialism and ensuring peace and security on the Korean peninsula and the region.". Note that they said "the region" as if they are also planning to attack on China's behalf. In 2006 North Korea is said to have tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), but they claim that it was placing a peaceful communications satellite. Experts concluded that the method of launch and technology used in the launch were identical to that of a "Taepodong-2 missile" which is a two stage ballistic missile.

Questions: My questions are, "What can the UN really do to North Korea to "punish" them for the weapon tests?", and, "Is the UN even able to do anything to convince them to give up their weapons, other than icing them out of UN activities?"

Source: McCurry, Justin. "North Korea tests nuclear weapon 'as powerful as Hiroshima bomb."Guardian. 27 January, 2010.