So far this year, North Korea has tested its fourth nuclear device, launched yet another thinly veiled intercontinental ballistic missile test and stepped up threats of physical violence against a range of countries. Many would say this is standard fare for a country that has established itself as the world’s pariah state par excellence. But rather than fall into the trap of dismissing Pyongyang’s behaviour as business as usual, we should be very concerned about the current trajectory of its weapons-related activities.

We are witnessing the emergence of the world’s 10th nuclear weapons state – a profoundly negative development in itself – and North Korea is exhibiting all the hallmarks of a state that wants to be considered a major nuclear power.

The claim by Pyongyang that its January nuclear test was a hydrogen bomb was exposed as inflated by the seismic activity detected of the explosion, which remained far below what one would expect for a thermonuclear yield. It is nonetheless revealing that North Korea has sought to mimic Cold War thinking, when both superpowers strove to demonstrate nuclear superiority through the brute metrics of testing multi-megaton thermonuclear devices.

Please click here to read the full “North Korea’s nuclear agenda challenges US engagement in Asia” article in the Australian by Griffith University Asia Institute and School of Government and International Relations Professor, Andrew O’Neil.