North Korea’s Nuclear Challenge
Bruce Klingner /
Pyongyang ’s eagerness to conduct a nuclear test so quickly after its long-range missile launch shows it has abandoned its previous façade of negotiations and is instead striving to achieve a viable nuclear weapon and ICBM delivery capability. North Korea ’s unflinching efforts to develop the means to threaten the US and its allies with nuclear weapons underscores the ongoing need to continue to develop and deploy a missile defense system.
The rapid pace of Pyongyang ’s provocations since January indicates it has altered its objectives and is no longer responsive to diplomatic entreaties. International diplomatic pressure was unable to prevent North Korea from launching a Taepo Dong-2 missile in April. The paltry sanctions subsequently imposed by the UN Security Council for North Korea’s violating UN Resolutions 1695 and 1718 were insufficient to deter Pyongyang from its nuclear test.