Nuclear Dimension of global security: North Korea Issue

The recent tsunami in the Asian Security Environment has left most of us in dilemma that will the third world war erupt from Asia unlike the two world wars. North Korea which is termed as a rogue state by USA is continuously building its nuclear stockpiles and threatening to attack USA and Japan with nuclear warheads. The war of words between D Trump and kim Yong Un may turn in to a Nuclear war, this is what is being threatening the world leaders. Though the Korean premier has its last initials as Un but he doesn’t not give a heed to UN (United Nations). North Korea has been used as a football in international politics and there have never been cordial relations between US and Korea.

The 38 parallel which was a temporary measure taken by UN drew a permanent line of suspicion during cold war between Former Soviet Union and US which resulted in permanent enmity between both Korean regimes. Nuclear weapons have been considered as WMD (weapons of mass destruction) and they exert credible nuclear deterrence to the opponent. The nuclear arms race which started after the WW-II made the world live under the fear of nuclear war but the nuclear strategies coined by USA and specially the theory of Deterrence and MAD (mutual assured destruction) resulted in nuclear restraint and both the super powers agreed to cut their nuclear stockpiles under START- Treaty. The world was on the threshold of a nuclear war in 1962 Cuban missile crisis and Indo Pak 1971 war. Having said that it indicates that in recent Korean crisis the nuclear

power balance is in favour of USA and there are few aspects:-

1. The question of nuclear war does not arise as if at all there is a nuclear strike by Korea on USA or Japan it will prove suicidal for Korea.
2. If the two nuclear giants (USA and Former Soviet Union) could not afford to wage a nuclear strike on one another how can a small nation like Korea think of that.
3. As Kim is a dictator and does not care about the public opinion so his autocratic attitude might compel his allies like Russia and China to exert pressure on him indirectly favouring US.

On the face of it we can see a nuclear strike coming soon either from USA or Korea but it’s not that simple as it looks. Retrospectively if we have peek in the history the world has seen lot of nuclear accidents in the form of war replacing with nuclear restraint. So in the age of globalization a full scale conventional war is out of question and a nuclear exchange taking place is definitely next to impossible. The world community and the UN need to check the nuclear proliferation being done in lieu of petty interests. Further the major global threat in form of nuclear terrorism is knocking our doors. The world already has so much of nuclear stockpiles that the mother earth can be destroyed 7 times and that will result in nuclear winter with no aggressor and aggressed surviving despite of Anti radiation kits. The world leaders should rise above nuclear haves and have nots and the recent crisis calls for a total nuclear disarmament as advocated by India.
 

By: Ajay Kumar