How to deal with North Korean problem

North Korea's determination to pursue its policy of becoming a nuclear power continues to endanger world peace. When Kim Jong-un's photos appeared in the international press jubilating his country's latest test of an alleged hydrogen bomb, the international community condemned North Korea for its "unlawful, irresponsible and adventurous" behavior. South Korea launched its own missile test. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis threatened North Korea with "massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming."

2017 has become a year which drew the attention of the world's public opinion toward the Korean Peninsula. In February and May this year, North Korea tested long-range Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM's) to give new momentum to its armament policy. Pyongyang aims at convincing the U.S., Japan and the international community that it has developed missiles to strike these two countries.

North Korea has also pursued a policy of nuclear armaments and is allegedly now capable of deploying miniaturized nuclear warheads to its ICBM's. This means, Japan and the U.S. do not only face missile threats but are also exposed to a nuclear attack. Would it happen? What would then follow it if it did?

Nuclear deterrence is a dangerous game. It has become the main pillar of Cold War bipolarity between the U.S. and the USSR simply because nuclear powers do not become so with a single missile or a warhead. Nuclear powers having a second strike capability give birth to the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction and this, ironically, guarantees the non-war situation (it is hard to call this "peace" as long as the threat for war persists) through "balance of terror." This was what the Cold War balance was about.

North Korea,...