Well, It Didn't Take Long

     Today I read about the newly mentioned plans of North Korea to launch a missile into space on bloomberg.  The North Koreans are claiming to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of their nation by launching a new satellite into orbit.  Only a few weeks ago, North Korea agreed to halt any long-range missile tests, among other agreements, in exchange for a large, much needed food donation from the United States.  The North claims that this launch is completely harmless, however, it is eerily similar to the launch they performed in 2009.  This launch was also supposed to propel a satellite into orbit, but after inspections made by the U.S. and Japan, no satellites were ever released.  The United Nations deemed this act as a long-range missile test and it ultimately led to the end of the six-nation nuclear disarmament act.  Due to the questionable state of North Korea's government and the fact that they possess the technology and resources to manufacture atomic bombs, many believe that this launch announcement will completely halt the food-aid deal between North Korea and the U.S.  According to an article on usatoday.com, State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland claimed that the U.S. has "grave concerns" about this launch.  She went on to say, "we made clear unequivocally that we considered that any satellite launch would be a deal-breaker."  These remarks make it clear that this announcement is being highly scrutinized by our government.  The U.S. is not the only country concerned with this announcement.  Japan and Russia have also come on board in an attempt to negotiate with North Korea and prevent a "deal-breaker" from taking place.  These countries have continued to state that they are concerned with instability within their region of the globe and they will not tolerate this kind of defiance.  They have also claimed that if North Korea follows through with this launch, they will consider it a violation of UN regulation.  The thing that is so peculiar about this is that none of the before mentioned nations know what is on that rocket.  It is very difficult for me to comprehend that the United States, Russia, and Japan have the authority to tell a nation that they cannot take advantage of satellite technology.  Imagine if China had told the U.S. that if they put a man on the moon in 1969 they would put sanctions on all imports from China to the U.S.  It is not our place to restrict the advancement of other countries.  Another thing to consider is the motives of North Korea.  The U.S. continues to keep tens of thousands of military troops on location in South Korea ever since the conflict we had there in the '50's.  We also have ships carrying nuclear weapons lurking around the North Pacific with the ability to completely annihilate the North Koreans.  Why wouldn't they try to keep up with us?  Why would they bow down to us?  They won't!  We never defeated them in the '50's, and as long as they can continue to advance their nuclear technology, along with their other military strengths, they will never have a reason to think they are doing anything wrong.  This writer on the washingtonpost.com agrees that in order to turn this relationship around we need to give the North Koreans the freedom they deserve while providing them with assistance we can afford.  In the event that this launch is proven to be anything other than a satellite launch, then we should be hasty, but for now, we should be building a relationship of trust so that we can globally move on without worry of a nuclear apocalypse.