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Another Cold War?
By Maggie Saylor '07
STAFF WRITER

Nukes. Really big bombs = really big deal.

But for most of us, our familiarity with North Korea is limited to Kim Jong Il’s crooning ballad “I’m so Ronery” in the movie “Team America”.

However, the North Korean leader is hardly ignored by the rest of the world. North Korea and its potential nuclear weaponry has been a serious factor in international relations for several years, and last month’s events might constitute and overhaul in U.S. trade agreements and foreign policy.

Let’s back up a bit though. Korea, for most of its history, was actually one unified country. It wasn’t until after the end of World War II that the nation was divided (arbitrarily) along the 38th parallel, with the northern half appropriated to the Communist Soviet Union, and the south to the U.S.

Both halves share the same history and religion, but the USSR focused on creating a communist government and industrialized the economy, while the south was more democratic and agricultural.

North Korea has been ruled by the Kims (father Kim Il Sung and son Kim Jong Il) since the mid-century, and is now so cut off from the world that its people are often not even allowed internet or TV access. Human rights violations abound, including torture and widespread hunger.

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, North and South Koreans met often to discuss reunification, but those plans are now in jeopardy.

North Korea’s nuclear tests are upsetting, but not surprising. Since leaving the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1993, Korean and American statesmen have engaged in a tug-of-war of treaties, missile tests, and sanctions. South Korea and the U.S. most recently attempted to recommence talks in September, but were rejected.

Less than a month later, North Korea declared their first nuclear test, an event that was simultaneously confirmed and denounced by the UN Security Council. In the following weeks, Russia, Japan, China, South Korea, and the United States have stepped to the head of the discussion, due to proximity and historical ties.

This event is important because Kim Jong Il’s father spent his life striving to hold an influence equal to that the of the United States, and nuclear capabilities are a powerful bargaining chip. One more country, one more nuclear bomb, and we have the potential for one more trigger-happy mistake.

Not only that, but the addition of such an unstable nuclear power could spark a nuclear arms race, starting with Japan, that will undo any ground covered since the end of the Cold War.

North Korea has not threatened to actually use the bomb; the news is flooded with world leaders’ official statements as to what will happen next. Most seem to stick to strongly expressed dissatisfaction, coupled with a lot of tact so as not to upset any chances of peaceful negotiation.

We’re not on the verge of a nuclear war—yet. But Kim Jong Il with nukes is not nearly as amusing as his playboy puppet counterpart, so we wait and cross our fingers that no one—including our own leaders—makes a bad move.