North Korea Goes Nuclear

We’re following perspectives on a developing story in North Korea, which conducted an underground nuclear test and missile launch.

We’ll be looking at Korean Central News Agency, Los Angeles Times, France 24, the Independent and CNN.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency emphasized the tests were intended to ensure the country’s “peace and security”:

"The successful nuclear test is greatly inspiring the army and people of the DPRK all out in the 150-day campaign, intensifying the drive for effecting a new revolutionary surge to open the gate to a thriving nation.” (Korean Central News Agency)

To get a sense of how the rest of the world feels about this, let’s go to the Los Angeles Times.

It reports on the condemnation from the international community and suggests the tests are a way for North Korea to, quote, “bully the U.S. and its allies.”

“Figuratively speaking, North Korea's dual actions Monday were aimed directly at Washington, which has directed its attentions away from Pyongyang as officials direct wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."(The Los Angeles Times)

That said – France 24’s Robert Parson’s says we’ve seen it all before.

North Korea makes a move that generates international disapproval and calls for talks – and nothing happens.

“Other approaches have to be tried but they’re just not working. It appears that North Korea is impervious to reasoning or to threats or to sanctions and has the rest of the international community dancing a merry dance.” (France 24)

So what is the real security threat? The Independent's analysis says it’s not North Korea’s nuclear program that’s a danger.

It’s the North’s hundreds of mid-range missiles that:

“…could rain 500,000 shells an hour into the Seoul area, which is home to about half of South Korea's 49 million people.” (The Independent)

CNN’s Christine Romans points out North Korea's efforts to fund its nuclear porgram pose a different kind of threat – an economic one.

“This country is thought to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in unreported sales of missiles, narcotics, counterfeit cigarettes and other illicit activities. Among those illicit activities foreign policy watchers have been concerned about are counterfeited U.S. currency, $100 bills in circulation, estimates from $20 million, $65 million of these counterfeit currency, our money afloat in the global economy.” (CNN)

Newsy.com…where multiple perspectives help provide the real story.