North Korea Ignores World Powers, Conducts Nuclear Weapons Test

North Korea performed underground nuclear missile testing yesterday, in defiance of world powers. Russian officials, monitoring the tests closely, noted that the bombs that were tested were comparable in destructive force to those used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to quell last-ditch, desperate efforts of the Japanese during World War II. The testing drew condemnation from all corners of the world, with Washington, Beijing, Moscow and others weighing in. Peter Beck, a Korean affairs expert at American University, said, "We’re heading for a full-blown crisis with the North."

Adding to the anxiety over nuclear testing is speculation over who is to be named successor to 67-year-old dictator Kim Jong Il, who apparently was hit by a stroke last summer. Kim Jong Il has ruled the north with an iron fist since 1994, having inherited the country’s leadership from his father. Kim Jong Il has three sons who may assume leadership, but there has been no move to publicly name a successor.

Among the many who spoke on the matter of North Korea’s nuclear testing was former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, who noted, "The fact that North Korea is undertaking this nuclear test amid great economic and political turmoil might be a sign that North Korea is trying to escape from some kind of internal difficulty." Beck, the American University Korean affairs expert, noted that he believe Kim Jong Il was attempting to solidify the support of the North Korean people for his regime prior to announcing a successor. Said Beck, "Kim Jon Il is trying to demonstrate his virility and that they are a power to be reckoned with."