The Nuclear Fallacy of North Korea

Bill Gonzalez

April 22 2013

Since its inception, North Korea has never ceased to stir up trouble with the international community. Officially know as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea split from the neighbouring South Korea at the end of the Second World War in 1945. The young nation was initially adopted by the Soviet Union, which implemented their Communist ideals into the countries government and society. The tension between the communist government of the north and the republican government of the south would eventually lead to the Korean War, a three-year conflict which saw the US and other members of the UN supporting South Korea and North Korea being supported by the Soviet Union and later China. The Korean War, which never ended in a piece treaty (it’s still technically going on today), would lead to the strained relations that exist between North Korea and the UN today. North Korea’s economy initially recovered from the aftermath of the Korean War, however increasing debt, inflation, the mismanagement of funds, numerous droughts, and the lack of western trade partners lead to an eventual economic decline in the late 1970’s. North Korea has since been one of the world’s poorest countries, with roughly 20-27% of the population living below the poverty line. The social economic issues in North Korea haven’t stopped the government from developing nuclear weapons however, a process which has lead to condemnation from the rest of the world. The nation first declared itself a nuclear power in 2009 and has since performed a handful of underground nuclear tests. In 2013 under their new leader Kim Jong-un, the DPRK has heightened tensions between themselves and the UN (particularly South Korea and the US) due to the leaders recent threats to launch one of its nuclear weapons against South