Will North Korea's provocative nuclear test backfire?

Pyongyang infuriated the U.S. and United Nations, and humiliated its only friend and supporter, China

An effigy of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un is on display during a protest a day after the country conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji)

North Korea's nuclear test this week will bring about little to no good. Depending on what international monitors confirm about the test — Was the warhead plutonium-based or, worse, fueled by enriched uranium? Was it smaller than previous warheads, and thus closer to fitting atop a ballistic missile? — Pyongyang could be significantly closer to developing a workable nuke able to reach Japan, or its obvious end goal, the U.S. If there's a silver lining to the isolated communist regime's (figurative) mushroom cloud, it's that, as President Obama said Tuesday, such "provocations... will only isolate them further as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense, and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats."

The United Nations Security Council unanimously "strongly condemned" the "grave violations" of U.N. resolutions, and vowed to "begin work immediately on appropriate measures," presumably new sanctions. While the Security Council is hashing out the type and scope of the sanctions, "all eyes will be on China to see how far Beijing, increasingly exasperated with its troublesome ally and neighbor, is willing to go to punish the North for its actions," says Howard LaFranchi at The Christian Science Monitor. The date of the test, right before Obama's State of the Union address, suggests that leader Kim Jong Un is trying to send a message to the U.S.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.