Though I haven't yet begun the semester, this was too huge to just ignore. A second nuclear test by North Korea should show them to be a real nuclear power (though the results are still awaiting confirmation).
If North Korea is a standard power, then nuclear weapons on the peninsula could actually be beneficial. If it convinced North Korea that it wasn't going to be subject to attack at any moment by the US, then perhaps it would be willing to better participate in the global arena, or at least stop threatening its southern neighbor.
However, we have no assurances that North Korea is any old country. It is the most opaque country in the world, and its constant belligerence does nothing to soothe anyone. Moreover, the lack of forewarning for this test further shows this; there was no effort to warn the world or make it comfortable with the threat.
Overall, though, unless it is proven to have been a substantial improvement over the last one, it probably won't be much of a game changer. Everyone already knows that North Korea has nuclear weapons; everyone knows they can't really get them reliably past Japan; and everyone knows it would still be suicidal to attack either South Korea or Japan.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
What this is
This is not a blog to weave together all possible knowledge of East Asian Security. Nor is it an attempt to provide live coverage of every little thing that happens and impacts East Asian Security.
Instead, it is a tool that I intend to use to write up my reactions to my readings for the independent study I am doing in East Asian Security, as well as apply those readings to the real world. There will be some current events, as well as some theoretical musings based on my readings. I want to have them online for a few reasons:
1) To make it easier for my professor (who will be mostly out of town this semester) to find and read them, and interact with me.
2) So that I can chart the progression of my thinking on these issues.
3) To stimulate conversation with any random person who might come across this. (I seriously doubt there will be much of the latter, but it's a possibility.)
There will not be much published on here until the beginning of fall semester, but if anything particularly strikes my fancy before then, it will.
Instead, it is a tool that I intend to use to write up my reactions to my readings for the independent study I am doing in East Asian Security, as well as apply those readings to the real world. There will be some current events, as well as some theoretical musings based on my readings. I want to have them online for a few reasons:
1) To make it easier for my professor (who will be mostly out of town this semester) to find and read them, and interact with me.
2) So that I can chart the progression of my thinking on these issues.
3) To stimulate conversation with any random person who might come across this. (I seriously doubt there will be much of the latter, but it's a possibility.)
There will not be much published on here until the beginning of fall semester, but if anything particularly strikes my fancy before then, it will.
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