Nuclear north Korea

So it looks like the DPRK has almost certainly tested a nuclear device this morning. I doubted that they had one- my estimation was that they were most like bluffing. It appears I was wrong.

China is not happy, Japan and south Korea are pissed. This could be a serious mis-step by Kim Jong Il. Japan has already said they will essentially isolate the DPRK if they test a nuke. the ROK is making it clear that they consider nukes in north Korea to be a serious threat to their security- and this could potentially be 'war talk'. China wants a buffer state, not a nuclear power, on their border so their support for the DPRK has probably just evaporated.

Changes in circumstance bring risk and opportunity. Iran will be watching VERY closely to see how the world (the U.S.A.) will react. This may be the greatest test of Bush's leadership- this is where he can make things much, much worse than they have been. Everything that has gone before- war in Afghanistan, in Iraq; these could turn out to have been minor compared to nuclear Iran and north Korea.

On a self-centered note, it makes me wonder what risks and opportunities there are for Americans who speak fluent Korean.