From Pyongyang, With Love

North Korea’s recent attempt to launch its Kwangmyongsong-2 three stage booster rocket—which many experts have described as a civilian adaptation of its Taepodong-2 ballistic missile—should serve as a reminder of the unstable international security environment in Northeast Asia. Although the test itself was a failure—according to the New York Times, U.S. Northern Command and Japan’s Ministry of Defense, the missile fell apart in the Western Pacific—North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and its already extant launch capability should be worrisome for all concerned parties in Northeast Asia. Nevertheless, we are reassured by the Obama administration’s handling of the crisis and hope to see continued efforts in furthering nuclear nonproliferation as a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.

While the North Korean test is disheartening, we are encouraged to see that the United States’ alliances with Japan and South Korea remain strong. Even more importantly, this crisis has seen Japanese and South Korean leaders unite to make a strong statement on the continued unacceptability of the North Korean nuclear program. Given the historical animosity between the two countries, it is important that these relationships remain strong for the continued stability of the region during the twenty-first century.

We are also pleased to see how President Obama has handled this challenge from the reclusive autocracy in Pyongyang. When confronted with the reality of the North Korean launch, the President renewed his calls for continued nonproliferation efforts, based on the reduction of current nuclear stockpiles, the prevention of further proliferation, and the securing of loose fissile material. In the days prior to the crisis, Obama had also deployed two AEGIS-capable destroyers to the East Sea—which can track and shoot down missiles if needed—in order to demonstrate American resolve. These actions demonstrated a combination of firm diplomacy and American military leadership.

Outside of the region, the Obama administration should make continued nuclear nonproliferation efforts a priority in its foreign policy, and should hold both allies and adversaries to a zero-tolerance standard with regard to clandestine or illegal nuclear weapons programs. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, originally opened for signature on July 1, 1968, governs the peaceful use of civilian nuclear technology in the international community and places strict safeguards on national nuclear programs, especially with regard to fissile material that could one day be used to construct a nuclear weapon.

Today, 189 countries are party to the agreement, of which five are allowed to maintain nuclear weapons. The four states that do not abide by the NPT—India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan—have all developed, or are suspected of developing nuclear weapons capabilities of some sort. The Obama administration should work with all four of these nations to bring them back into the international fold (the U.S.-India bilateral accord of 2006 is a good starting point), and hopefully persuade them to give up their nuclear armaments.

The administration should also take strong measures to dissuade potential violators of the NPT, such as Iran, from developing nuclear weapons. There is little doubt that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction—especially nuclear weapons—is one of the greatest international security challenges of the twenty-first century. Preventing terrorists and rogue states like North Korea from obtaining nuclear weapons should therefore become of the primary goals of American foreign policy. Towards that end, we hope that President Obama will follow through on his bold pledge in Prague on Monday to make nuclear nonproliferation a top priority.