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John Daley ReportingPolitical observers and nuclear experts in Utah are watching the North Korea news closely, and today's developments are raising both new questions and new concerns. The questions have to do with exactly what kind of test took place and what it means for both that region and for international security.
For years, North Korea has been threatening that it was getting closer to building a nuclear bomb. Now it says it has, though the head of the U. of U.'s nuclear lab says she still has questions, mostly about the size of the test and signs of a radioactive release.
Melinda Krahenbuhl, Director of Nuclear Engineering Program, Uni. of Utah: "Currently I think people are reporting that there hasn't been any sign that any radioactive isotopes or elements have been released. From that information we could tell how big the weapon was and if it really did detonate in the manner a nuclear weapon would."
The director of the Hinckley Institute just returned from a trip to China. He says all of Southeast Asia is worried about the tests and that could trigger more countries to want to joins the nuclear club.
Kirk Jowers, Hinckley Institute of Politics: "North Korea is that kind of scary uncle in the family over there, so they're always nervous. Japan is nervous because the nuclear weapons could hit them."
The North Korea move comes at a particularly dicey time for the Bush Administration, which has troops already committed in Afghanistan and Iraq, severely limiting a North Korean military option.
Kirk Jowers, Director, Hinckley Institute: "We're so thinkly spread, it just can't happen."
Bottom line, if the news of this test is true, the world is becoming more heavily armed and, some would argue, more dangerous.
Melinda Krahenbuhl, Director of Nuclear Engineering Program, Uni. of Utah: "The more people that are part of that group and the less stable they are politically, yes it becomes more dangerous, yes. Every time a new country adds it gives you something else to think about."
The United States has not yet confirmed the test. Scientists are still evaluating the data. It's possible this was just a conventional test, but government experts think it is more likely that is was indeed a nuclear test.
