North Korean Nuclear Program

North Korea has been a persistent thread over the past couple months due to the nuclear program that is rapidly developing. North Korea has possessed nuclear weapons for a few years now, they did not possess the ability to launch them long distances. However on July 4th, 2017, the first successful test of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) called the Hwasong-14 took place with a range as far as Alaska and the Hawaii. Another launch happened on July 28th, 2017, and could have been able to reach as far as New York. To reassure you, North Korea as of now only has the missile, and cannot fit the warhead. Additionally, if there were a warhead the increased weight would shorten the range. But without knowing exactly what North Korea will develop it is impossible to know what cities will be in striking distance, and experts estimate the isolate state could have small enough warheads by 2018. The situation is quickly becoming scary and needs to be addressed.

The world has responded to this threat in a couple ways. First, on August 2nd, 2017, The U.S. enacted the "Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act'' which reiterated existing sanctions. This, unfortunately, by itself was unlikely to do anything. Then, on August 5th, 2017, the UN Security Council unanimously imposed sanctions which banned over $1 billion worth of exports from North Korea, one-third of total revenue. The resolution was drafted by the U.S. and negotiated with China and aims to place economic pressure on Pyongyang so they open up to negotiations. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley warns the sanctions do not in and of themselves solve the problem, and the KCNA, the North Korean state-run news organization, has publicly stated North Korea will not put their nuclear program up for negotiation and the U.S will "pay the price for its crime...thousands of times." Whether North Korea will stick to this promise, only time will tell. I'll be sure to post updates as they occur.

Read More:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/31/asia/north-korea-missile-test-catchup/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/04/politics/us-sanctions-russia-iran-north-korea/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/08/05/world/asia/ap-un-united-nations-north-korea.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40846959