DPRK nuke tests threaten itself and others

Even though the DPRK claims to have successfully conducted an H-bomb test, its authenticity remains questionable. The 4.9 magnitude earthquake said to have caused by the test indicates Pyongyang might have made some breakthrough in nuclear fusion experiments.

However, the DPRK's nuclear program will push it into a security dilemma, instead of making it more secure. International relations experts have been emphasizing that there is no such thing as "absolute security" for a state. If a state pursues armament that exceeds its needs, its neighbors and other states will feel threatened and also start pursuing arms for their national security, which could start a deadly arms race.

In particular, if the DPRK proves that it really possesses nuclear bombs, the US and the ROK could take stronger military actions against it. Therefore, the DPRK needs to use some other means to make itself secure. Actually, its biggest perceived threat comes from the military drills of the US and the ROK, but the two countries have been holding fewer such exercises in recent years.

If the DPRK promotes economic growth to improve the livelihoods of its people, instead of pursuing nuclear weapons, it will not face any serious threat in the coming future. But if it continues conducting nuclear tests defying international opposition, it will only make other countries feel threatened and force them to take severe countermeasures.

Zheng Jiyong, an associate professor on Korean Peninsula studies at Fudan University