How North Korea’s nuclear weapons are helping to prevent war

B. Z. Khasru says North Korea is following the lead of other small nations threatened by foes with superior military might. Kim Jong-un’s gamble might just pay off – if China can live with a nuclear neighbour

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (second from right) inspects facilities at an undisclosed location in North Korea in September 2017 in a photograph released by his government. Photo: KCNA via AP

Published: 12:01pm, 13 Jan 2018Updated: 12:00pm, 13 Jan 2018

Atomic bombs are proving to be blessings for small nations that face enemies with far superior conventional and nuclear forces. This is especially true of North Korea, which expects to reap nuclear peace dividends, as fiery rhetoric gives way to cool heads.

Over the past 20 years, nuclear weapons have prevented at least three potentially big wars: between India and Pakistan, between Russia and Nato, and between the US and North Korea – as well as China by extension.

Nuclear bombs have also helped avoid major confrontations between Israelis and Arabs as well as Iranians. If more small countries had nukes, countless lives possibly could have been saved.

If Afghanistan had atomic bombs, for example, Afghans could have avoided the 40 years of mayhem since the Soviet Union’s invasion of their country in 1978. If Iraq had a nuclear arsenal, one million Iraqi lives and some 5,000 American lives could have been saved.

Nukes are, in fact, the chief deterrent to all-out war.

Pakistan’s refusal to adopt a no-first-use policy has helped it avoid full-blown war with India even though the nuclear-armed neighbours fought several border skirmishes in recent years. Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities have blunted India’s advantage of having vastly superior conventional strength.

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