Nuclear War Again?

The leaders of both Japan and the United States demonstrated common concern and united effort against North Korea’s nuclear ambition in a telephone talk on Thursday. Remarkable description of President Barack Obama was that US reminded North Korea of the power of existing nuclear weapons. Hasn’t US determined nuclear weapons as unusable long time ago? It is not sure whether nuclear deterrence works today. The escalation over nuclear intimidation would make people in Northeast Asia closer to the nuclear war again in this region.

Both leaders agreed that they needed a new stronger resolution in the Security Council of the United Nations to punish current nuclear test in North Korea. The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, required US of further sanction on wire transferring of North Korea, which indicates registering it again as one of the terrorist nations.

Obama replied to Abe’s request of strong measures, saying “The commitment of US to defend Japan is unshakable, with the deterrence of the nuclear umbrella of US.” Acknowledging that North Korea is getting close to the possession of intercontinental ballistic missiles, reaching US homeland soil, the President expressed his determination to deal with the emerging nuclear power in a country which US president once called one of the rogue nations.

The hawkish side of Japan welcomed Obama’s comment as a firm commitment on this issue. But the government of Japan cannot obtain the details of what’s going on in North Korea. The Asahi Shimbun introduced a comment of a Japanese official, saying “There should be a lot of secrets between US and North Korea, which the Japanese don’t know.” Whether the nuclear umbrella will work for the security of Japan would totally depend on US decision.

Threat is determined by capability and intention. While we know capability of nuclear North Korea to some extent, their intention of developing those weapons is still not clear. It is likely that the leaders of North Korea are using those weapons as a diplomatic tool for maintaining their regime. And it is unclear that they are willing to actually use the weapons, because using them means the end of North Korean history as a nation.

The Northeast Asia is a place where the first nuclear war was fought, even though it was unilateral. US response to North Korea’s nuclear intimidation may lead to another nuclear war. The Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, mentioned North Korea as a nuclear power. The President mentioned nuclear umbrella. US looks like going closer to the second nuclear war.