Shocking? Not Really

There has been a lot of discussion in the past week about North Korea's nuclear test on October 9. People are concerned that the world became a lot more dangerous overnight. The common word that many commentators have been using is "shocked". But what is shocking about North Korea having a semi-successful test? Everyone knew that North Korea was trying to build nuclear weapons. In order to be "shocked", people must have either assumed that North Korea was bluffing, or they assumed that North Korea wouldn't be able to build them.

The problem with non-proliferation is that basic single stage nuclear weapons are straightforward to build. The hardest components are acquisition of enough uranium, and building a successful enrichment process. Since North Korea already had an enrichment process for its nuclear power program, obtaining enriched uranium was not a problem. With enough enriched uranium, the big concern is actually ensuring that your device doesn't go supercritical before you want it to.

So it's not shocking at all that North Korea was able to replicate 1940's era technology and conduct a nuclear test. In fact, it is suprising that they were unable to accomplish it earlier. While its discomforting that a nation with unbalanced leadership now has the ability to make nuclear weapons, it was just a matter of time before North Korea had them.