Mushroom cloud ahead

last updated 8 January 2015

Pyongyang, North Korea

North Korea announced this week that it will conduct a nuclear test sometime “in the future.” The Stalinist regime is believed to have nuclear weapons but has never actually proved it by testing one. Pyongyang’s official news agency said that U.S. sanctions had forced North Korea to demonstrate its nuclear prowess. “The U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent,” the agency said. The U.S. State Department said that such a “reckless action” would be an “unacceptable threat to peace and stability.” The U.S., Japan, Russia, China, and South Korea have been trying to get North Korea to return to multilateral negotiations on giving up its weapons.