Thomas Hutton 4-15-12 W2 Kimble Current Events Essay North Korea has been a pain in Democracys side since

the Cold War. Nothings changed now, especially with their obsession with attaining the nuclear option. I do not believe they are attempting to create destruction- rather Im sure that the wish to create coercion. This is not dissimilar from the other red countries, yet there is a creepy reverberation from a country so determined to launch a rocket. Here is one report of what the U.S. has already speculated: North Korea says the aim of the launch was to put a satellite into orbit- a move marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of national founder Kim-IlSung. But the US and other nations say the launch constituted a disguised test of long-range missile technology banned under UN resolutions. In a statement, the White House condemned the launch, despite its failure. Un Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the launch deplorable. (BBC News Asia). Although North Korea claims that the rocket launch was no more than an honest attempt to put a satellite into orbit, it is quite evident that the rocket launch was a guise for North Koreas intent of owning warheads. If this is so, then the purpose for such a creation must be for coercion. North Korea surely remembers how the U.S.S.R. was able to coerce the United States in some ways, simply because they had nukes, and vice versa. Another article, from the Los Angeles Times, indicates just how determined North Korea was in their pursuit to launch the rocket: Despite warnings from the United States, as well as China and Russia, Pyongyang said Wednesday that it was fueling a three-stage rocket for imminent launch, depending on weather conditions. We dont really care about the opinions from the outside. This is critical in order to develop our national economy, Paek Chang Ho, head of the satellite control center at the Korean Committee for Space Technology, told reporters who were invited to North Korea for the occasion. Firstly, it seems ironic that Korea should be ignoring advice from China, another communist country. Just this fact alone is rather telling of the fact that the rocket may have more sinister and urgent purposes within the North Korean regime. Now what does North Koreas wish to create the power of coercion say about their country as a whole? Either theyre determined to get wiped out (the sarcastic yet realistic answer), or theyre attempting to create a world power of themselves. This is, of course, outsourced from history; every world power, whether they be a Kenyan nomadic tribe or the United States of America, wishes to attain and sustain that power, by whatever means necessary.