This morning, North Korea launched what they claimed to be a satellite into orbit. This launch, according to the State run news agency, was personally ordered and directed by Kim Jong Un. North Korea claims the launch was for scientific purposes and was entirely peaceful, but many have their doubts. Both South Korea and Japan warned North Korea of the negative consequences the launch would have.
The frightening aspect of this launch, is that the same technology used to put this satellite into space is the same technology used to deliver nuclear warheads (1). If this is North Korea’s true intention with this satellite, most of Western Europe, Australia, and the Western Coast of the US would be in range of a nuclear attack.
The UN has recognized this danger and has called an emergency meeting at 11 am E.T. in New York City to discuss the appropriate response (2). What makes this launch even worse is the fact that this is the second time in the past month that North Korea has done something similar to this. At the beginning of January, North Korea is believed to have tried, and failed, to test parts of a hydrogen bomb (3).
Do you believe this launch was for scientific purposes or to test technology used to transport nuclear warheads? Do you think North Korea should be punished for this launch and why or why not?
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3 comments:
Knowing North Korea's history with being violent, I do think that this was for nuclear weapon purposes. North Korea has been attempting to speed up to other countries technology levels for quite some time, so it would only make sense that they would want to launch this as soon as possible. However, I do think that if they wanted it to be interpreted as threatening and intimidating, they would have not said it was a peaceful gesture. It appears that KIm Jong Un always wants to seem like a scary dictator to the rest of the world, so he would probably want it published that him and his country were getting stronger.
I disagree with Ms. Hilbert's statement that North Korea being violent. Although they are a communist country and shunned by most countries, along with very heavy and strong sanctions placed against them, they haven't been very violent at all. Yes, they have tested two missiles within quick succession, and yes, they do have a post-WW2 pre-Cold War feeling with the tensions they are creating, but all they are doing is throwing a fit. Instead, I feel that they are honestly trying to gain scientific research. Otherwise, if they were to launch nuclear weapons to other countries, it would mean defcon 3. North Korea should have been punished in the first place; if they wanted to make relations better with the US and convince the US that they were testing bombs and launching satellites for scientific purposes, they should have been entirely transparent about it, rather than launching without warning.
I definitely think that these tests have nothing at all to do with scientific research and nothing to do with nuclear warheads. North Korea has had a long history o trying to reach a state where they can have nuclear warheads. North Korea should be punished for trying to advance their nuclear warheads technology. Through these tests, North Korea shows us that they are still trying to get nuclear weapons, and there is no way of knowing what they will do with them once they get them, a strong probability being South Korea. So I think the world needs to take a strong stance against these tests, so that North Korea gets the message of what will happen if they continue the tests.
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