Nuke tests won't solve DPRK's problems

The nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Friday was its fifth and largest, with a yield equivalent to about 10 kilotons of TNT, or trinitrotoluene. And it was its second this year.

This ill-considered move must be opposed, and that is exactly what China and the Republic of Korea did immediately after the nuclear test, because if it is not taken seriously, the DPRK may conduct more such tests.

Since the DPRK's nuclear program development program is still in the initial stages, it will have to carry out more tests to collect relevant data to build a nuclear warhead. But judging by its recent missile tests and assertive response to the international community's call for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang had signaled that it was planning something big. Take for example the timing. By conducting the latest nuclear test on the 68th anniversary of its founding, the DPRK intends to add "legitimacy" to its nuclear ambitions.