![]() Wellerstein, an assistant professor of Science and Technology at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, created the NUKEMAP nearly six years ago, but the number of users is growing steadily with the rising tensions between the U.S. If tensions escalated to a critical level, one man wondered what it would look like if a blast reached the U.S.Īn online tool created by Alex Wellerstein allows you to see the impact if a bomb was detonated in your city - or any city in the United States – and what affect it would have on the area around it. North Korea carried out the strongest ever of its six nuclear tests in early September, claiming to have used a hydrogen bomb. The threats have continued to escalate since President Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury” saying he would "totally destroy" the country if necessary.Īnd a North Korean official issued a stern warning to the world that it should take “literally” the country’s threat to test its nuclear weapon above ground. (WRTV) - As the tensions continue between the United States and North Korea, the possibility of a nuclear attack has become real for the first time in 30 years. And no nation wants to let one slip into the hands of a non-state actor that doesn't play by the same rules.Trending stories at Catalan Leader Says Region Won The Right To Be Independent From SpainAnother Kim Family Member Is Now In North Korea' s Top Political BodyFrance Pressures Catalonia To Stay Part Of Spain military support out of of East Asia has also sparked some debate in South Korea and Japan about whether the two nations should pursue the bomb to deter a potential strike from North Korea.But there's a reason only nine nations have nuclear weapons: They're a big responsibility. This same factor may play a role in East Asian nations seeking nuclear capabilities in response to China's growing conventional strength.SEE MORE: Why Trump's Budget Cuts To US Soft Power MatterPresident Donald Trump's allusions to pulling U.S. Israel, which is assumed to either have nuclear weapons on hand or the ability to quickly put them together, would have the upper hand if any of its neighbors tried to overpower the small nation by conventional means. It detonated its first bomb in 1974, and, a little over two decades later, India's other rival, Pakistan, built its own bomb.Of course, it's not always about rivaling other nuclear powers. And to be a great power, it needed great weapons.After China's successful tests in the mid-'60s, India started building its own nuclear weapons program to rival its Asian neighbor. President Charles de Gaulle believed France could only be France if it were a great power. It had already created a peaceful nuclear program in the years after World War II, and the nation's forced withdrawal during the Suez Canal crisis helped set the nationalistic tone needed to back weaponization.One author connects France's decision to go nuclear with something he calls 'national identity conception' - essentially, how a nation views its place in the world. for protection, so the nation built the bomb as a means of self-defense.France, on the other hand, decided to build the bomb a few years later in a quest to reassert its power status. Britain didn't want to rely wholly on the U.S. When Britain built the bomb, World War II was fresh in everyone's memory and Western Europe was on edge over fears the Soviet Union would attempt to expand further into Europe. SEE MORE: A Group Working To Ban Global Nuclear Arms Wins Nobel Peace PrizeThis is different than a nuclear power like the United Kingdom. So he views the possession of ballistic missiles and nuclear capability is inextricably linked to regime survival,' Gen. will try to topple its government, so it hopes nuclear weapons can prevent any action.'I think the intel community assesses - and I agree - that Kim Jong-un is on the path he's on right now because he believes that's necessary to enhance the survival of his regime. For North Korea, it's largely about internal stability - protecting against regime change. But going nuclear empowers governments in lots of other ways. If two nations can strike each other with a nuclear weapon and kill millions, then the chance one attacks the other decreases significantly. But these nations go nuclear for a lot of different reasons - and it rarely has to do with actually using a nuclear weapon.The most obvious reason nations build nuclear weapons is deterrence. Other countries aren't shy about potentially acquiring their own. North Korea is the latest, and it wants more. In that time, nine countries have acquired them. Nuclear weapons have been around for more than 70 years. ![]()
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