The Real Dr. Strangelove

Well, Psycho McCrazy himself did it. This morning at 10:36am Korea time, North Korea successfully tested their first atomic weapon.

That video makes you want to go join North Korea huh?

The reaction thus far among the teachers has been pretty mute. I was the one to break the news to my co-teachear and she responded with an small, "oh." I think I was more upset than she was. I might be able to guage reaction better once more people hear of the news.

I was pondering the situation, and googled "Dr. Strangeglove," Stanley Kubricks dark comedy about atomic weapons. I was struck at how much Peter Sellers as Dr. Strangeglove looks like Kim Jeong Il, North Korea's insane leader.














To be fair to Peter Sellers had the look first.

For the lay new watchers, here's the big deal. Not only does North Korea now posess a nuclear weapon that is within range of tens of thousands of US troops in South Korea and Japan, but it also has the reach to kill millions of civilians in both those countries. To be accurate, their current capabilities suggest that the weapons are relatively small and could kill only a few hundred thousand. However, now that they have tested their weapon, their knowledge is going to increase, as will their danger.

The largest concern is this, now that Japan has a credible nuclear threat just off its coast, it is going to feel pressure to develop a nuke of its own. With a nuclear Japan, South Korea will want to develop nukes because their horrific treatment under the Japanese is not-to-distant of a memory.