North Korea’s nuclear programme

KARACHI: The North Korean crisis is a perfect illustration of the failure of diplomacy, where a state that claims to be the world’s superpower has completely failed to avert a crisis situation triggered by the development of nuclear weapons by an authoritarian regime. This further raises question on the role of the United Nations as an international mediator whose numerous resolutions to halt North Korea’s nuclear programme were blatantly disregarded by its leader, Kim Jong Un.

Although the United Nations resolutions are not legally binding on states, the international community could have effectively sought out ways to deal with the situation similar to the way Iran’s nuclear programme was dealt with. By their failure to stop a country from becoming a nuclear power, the international community has pushed the situation towards an armed conflict that could take a devastating turn.

Maleeha Najib

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2017.

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