Washington, D.C. — The Bush administration’s policy toward Iraq is correct, but those arguing that the danger from North Korea may be greater are probably right. The difference is that we can take care of the threat from Saddam, but we’re virtually helpless to stop the Koreans. And just as the elimination of Saddam will benefit Israel, the failure to take steps to prevent North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons could prove catastrophic for Israel.
North Korea’s recent actions have highlighted the danger that nation poses to the world, but its destabilizing impact on the Middle East has long been evident. Owing primarily to its weak economy, North Korea has long been one of the world’s leading weapons proliferators, enthusiastically selling its technology to rogue nations to prop up its society and finance the development of its weapons systems.
In particular, North Korea has supplied missiles and built missile production facilities for Iran, Syria, Libya and Egypt. Syria, for example, purchased complete Scuds and production equipment from North Korea, and Pyongyang has been engaged in joint missile development with Egypt for two decades.
Iran is North Korea’s principal customer for weapons and technology, and it has been the site of a number of missile tests carried out on North Korea’s behalf. North Korea may have sold one of its most sophisticated missiles, the Nodong, which has the capability of carrying nuclear weapons more than 1,200 kilometers, to Iran. Meanwhile, the Shahab-3 missile under development in Iran — with a range of 1,300 kilometers — is reportedly based on the Nodong.
More worrisome even than the missile transfers is the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. According to the Defense Department, Pyongyang is currently capable of producing large quantities of nerve, blister and blood chemical warfare agents. These could be easily transferred to nations or terrorists.
North Korea could export plutonium from its nuclear weapons program, as well as weapon design data, to Iran and other Middle East nations willing to pay for it. In the worst-case scenario, the Koreans move forward with the production of nuclear bombs and then stockpile enough to have a surplus for sale to the highest bidders.
What is most frightening is that there is little that Israel or the United States can do about the situation. It seems that we are simply going to be forced to accept a new member of the nuclear club and one that is less concerned about controlling its own stockpile than the existing members. You can see our impotence in the current administration’s response.
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