海角大神

鈥� A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Two days after the United Nations condemned North Korea with further sanctions for its聽December rocket launch, the secretive country vowed to respond with a nuclear weapons test aimed at its 鈥渆nemy,鈥� the United States.

The United Nations Security Council 鈥� including North Korea鈥檚 closest ally and biggest trading partner, China 鈥� voted unanimously on Tuesday to strengthen sanctions against North Korea for its Dec. 12 long-range rocket launch, which violated previous agreements with the UN.

When the launch took place last month, North Korea stated its intentions were entirely peaceful, and that it was exercising its 鈥渞ight to use space鈥� for peaceful purposes.

Today, however, North Korea鈥檚 tune seemed to change. "We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are targeted at the United States," North Korea's National Defense Commission said, Reuters reports, citing the state news agency KCNA.

The commission described the UN Security Council as 鈥渁 marionette of the US,鈥� and said the Security Council 鈥渟hould apologize for its crime of seriously encroaching upon the independence of a sovereign state ... and repeal all the unreasonable 'resolutions' at once.鈥�

If North Korea were to carry out a nuclear test 鈥渙f a higher level,鈥� as noted today, it would be the country鈥檚 third. Its previous tests were conducted in 2006 and 2009, 鈥渂oth times just weeks after being punished with UN sanctions for launching long-range rockets,鈥� according to Fox News.

But this time, some international observers believe North Korea鈥檚 technological ability to conduct nuclear testing has advanced. 聽Bloomberg reports the country has 鈥渆nough weaponized plutonium for four to eight basic nuclear weapons,鈥� according to estimates by the Stanford University nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, who visited North Korea鈥檚 atomic facilities, including one for atomic uranium-enrichment, in 2010.

The Associated Press reports that North Korea may be aiming to use "a device made from highly enriched uranium, which is easier to miniaturize than the plutonium bombs it tested in 2006 and 2009,鈥� according to Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. Further tests are necessary before North Korea can create an atomic weapon small enough to launch as a warhead attached to a long-range missile, according to the Associated Press.

Leader Kim Jong-un may be trying to bolster his legitimacy at home and on the world stage by continuing his father鈥檚 鈥渕ilitary first鈥� policies.

鈥淣orth Korea has unfortunately resorted to their classic play of brinkmanship,鈥� Huh Moon-young, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, told Bloomberg. 鈥淚n this totalitarian regime, the dictatorship is maintained not through winning the hearts of the impoverished public with money, but with consolidation through a show of military might.鈥�

International response to North Korea鈥檚 threat today was quick, according to the Telegraph.聽The US special envoy to North Korea, Glyn Davies, urged the country and Mr. Kim not to move forward with the test, calling it a potential 鈥渕istake and a missed opportunity.鈥�

The New York Times notes that North Korea鈥檚 threat 鈥渕arked the boldest challenge its new, untested leader, Kim Jong-un, has posed at both his country鈥檚 longtime foe, the United States, and its last remaining major ally, China, and rattled governments in Northeast Asia that are undergoing sensitive transitions of power.鈥�

Some believe the nuclear test could occur as soon as February, reports Reuters, in order to coincide with neighboring South Korea鈥檚 President-elect Park Geun-hye taking power on Feb. 25. Another possibility is timing the test with the birthday celebration of Mr. Kim鈥檚 late father, Kim Jong-il, on Feb. 16.

鈥淣orth Korea can conduct a nuclear test as soon as its leadership makes up its mind,鈥澛燗rmy Col. Wi Yong-seob, deputy spokesman of the Defense Ministry of South Korea, told The New York Times today.

An editorial in the UAE鈥檚 Khaleej Times notes that recent rising international tensions 鈥渉ave again dimmed the possibility of an amicable resolution to the cold war on the Korean Peninsula.鈥�

But North Korea seems to be rebuffing diplomatic channels or the revival of six-nation talks. "Settling accounts with the US needs to be done with force, not with words, as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival," the Democratic People's Republic of Korea said in today鈥檚 statement.

Reuters notes that the US may not be the only target of North Korea鈥檚 ire. "North Korea will have felt betrayed by China for agreeing to the latest UN resolution and they might be targeting [China] as well [with this statement]," said Lee Seung-yeol, senior research fellow at Ewha Institute of Unification Studies in Seoul.

But not everyone is taken aback by North Korea鈥檚 move today. 鈥淥ver the years they鈥檝e said the same thing again and again,鈥� Daniel Pinkston, North East Asia Deputy Project Director for the International Crisis Group told Time. 鈥淧eople say North Koreans are very unpredictable or whatever, but this is very predictable.鈥�