Monday, April 9, 2012

North Korea to Test Long Range Rocket


North Korea has recently unveiled its newest endeavor – a new, long range rocket, capable of putting a satellite in space.  In a show of pride, and perhaps arrogance, North Korea’s leader, “Supreme Commander Kim Jong-un” has opened his nation’s borders further than ever before, and has permitted U.S. Journalists to come view the rocket themselves.

This news obviously has come to worry many nations, the U.S. included.  With North Korea now in possession of long range rockets, the threat of an intercontinental nuclear strike has been realized.  North Korea however, continues to claim the rocket is merely for scientific purposes, and nothing more.

The greatest concern right now however, is should the rocket experience a massive failure, where it would land.  Should the rocket fail above China, falling debris into heavily populated urban centers would lead to massive causalities.

What are your thoughts concerning North Korea’s new missile? Are the claims of innocence to be trusted, or should the U.N. draw tighter sanctions on North Korea?  Furthermore, should the U.S. becoming involved?

5 comments:

Kore Chan said...

I doubt that North Korea would develop a new rocket system only for scientific purposes, especially because I doubt that they plan to share their creations. Given that situation, the rocket must have been for some reason or another that would further a North Korean goal. Since North Korea is not generally well liked or trusted, it would be sensible to be highly suspicious of their intents / motives regarding the rocket. In terms of what to do about the situation, I do not believe that many nations would be willing to be directly involved unless there is a "clear and present danger." Although it might be smart to ensure that nothing untoward is happening with the rocket, nobody probably wants to take the political flak for initiating (not obviously necessary) regulatory actions. Thus, nothing would probably been done about the situation except for nations keeping a tighter watch over the rather interesting nation of North Korea.

Sabrina Imbler said...

North Korea has already promised to launch this 32-meter-long rocket before April 16, catalyzing its third attempt to launch a ballistic missile. So in response to Kore, evidence all but proves his assumption that North Korea's rocket was not developed for purely scientific purposes. Pyongyang is also working on a third underground nuclear test right now, demonstrating the extent to which it will go to match other leading world powers in its nuclear capacity. The international community, understandably, has exploded with dissent regarding North Korea's right to launch this "satellite rocket." The Security Council of the UN has forbidden North Korea from launching any sort of missile, a declaration most member countries of the UN--including Japan and the U.S.--also hold to be true. North Korea argues that the Space Treaty of the UN clearly allows for peaceful, scientific exploration of space; however, most countries believe that the specific restrictions of North Korea's missile powers overrule any freedoms granted by the Space Treaty.

All in all, this recent increase in nuclear activity seems to be a strategy to strengthen and affirm Kim Jong Un's grasp of power and image in the international community in the light of the recent power wake left by his father. Nevertheless, this promise marks a drastic attempt to support Kim Jong Un, as South Korea and Japan have made explicitly clear that any missile launch will jeopardize the stability of the Korean peninsula, and Asia as a whole.

Erik CAbeza said...

I also believe that North Korea would not be using their long range missile for scientific purposes.We should give them a chance and see what they will do with the long range missile but strictly under UN supervision. So we could keep a close eye on North Korea because if North Korea would use their long range missile for intercontinental nuclear war the whole world would be put at risk.for now every one should keep a close eye on North Korea and what Kim Jong Un is up too.

Crystal Cheung said...

Given the history and demeanor of North Korea, I believe that other foreign leaders should be cautious when approaching and keep a close eye on N. Korea but I also believe that if the country and it's leaders are trying to change then some leeway and opportunity should be given to them to show that they may be different than their past shows.

Sammy Molakides said...

I agree with Crystal, I do believe that some leeway should be given to N. Korea if they are trying to change however, I don't think leeway should be granted if the country is testing weapons that could lead to the deaths of millions. Yes a little dramatic but, N. Korea is capable of doing damage if they so please. N. Korea should only have leeway when they are not testing missiles.