Nuclear North Korea

1. Nuclear North Korea What is the potential harm of North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons?

15. Power of Nuclear Weapons • Most feared weapon of mass destruction. • Causes instantaneous devastation. • Persistent effects of radiation after bombing. • Cold War sparked a nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

16. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) • Goal is to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. • Signees of the treaty do not have nuclear weapons and agree not to acquire them. • Those with nuclear weapons agree not to sell or trade them. • Encourage participating countries to disarm. • Provide guidelines and peaceful cooperation for the use of nuclear energy.

17. 6 Party Talks • Negotiations about North Korea’s nuclear program. • Goal is to disarm North Korea. • Six participating countries: • North Korea • South Korea • China • United States • Russia • Japan

19. Nuclear North Korea • 2003 – North Korea withdraws from the NPT Treaty. • September 2005 – North Korea agrees to give up its nuclear ambitions in exchange for economic aid and political concessions. • October 2006 – North Korea’s first test of a nuclear weapon. • The United Nations responded with sanctions. • June 2007 – inspectors from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) visited a North Korean reactor. • April/May 2009 – North Korea pulls out of the 6-Party talks and tests a second nuclear weapon. • March 2011 - North Korea says it is ready to return to the 6-Party talks.

20. Why is a nuclear North Korea concerning? • North and South Korea are technically still at war. • A nuclear North Korea could trigger an East Asian arms race. • North Korea could sell its weapons to terrorists. • North Korea is unpredictable – unsure of how it could use its weapons.