Amidst fears of nuclear tests in North Korea, the country seems determined to push ahead.
North Korea announced on Wednesday May 30, they have changed their constitution to declare the country as a nuclear-armed state.
The updated constitution reads, “National Defense Commission chairman Kim Jong-Il turned our fatherland into an invincible state of political ideology, a nuclear-armed state and an indomitable military power, paving the ground for the construction of a strong and prosperous nation.” Adding “nuclear-armed state” to their preamble.
Dr. Yuseok Seo of the Institute of North Korea Studies, in Seoul, told NTD Television, “The North has demanded for the United States to acknowledge North Korea as a nuclear-armed nation.” He says, “The United States has said to North Korea: if the North goes ahead with nuclear testing, they may send nuclear weapons and military to South Korea.”
But Seo says this could pose more of a threat to China than to North Korea, with South Korea’s military build-up in the region. “That could threaten China rather than North Korea. China is quite worried about South Korea’s increasing military power.”
Many experts point out however, that North Korea’s provocations and bluster can’t be taken at face value, as seen by the likely fake long-range missiles displayed at the nation’s founding celebrations. Analyzing footage of the parade, a team of German arms experts deemed the six supposed missiles to be elaborate mock ups.
“We can’t just view things on the surface, the North’s developing nuclear weapons is a way of getting attention from the international community and getting recognition as a big nation which has nuclear weapons,” says Seo.
The United States, South Korea, and Japan have agreed to strengthen cooperation to better deal with North Korean aggression, they said during the two-day Asia Security Summit in Singapore this weekend.
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