North Korea has confirmed the worst suspicions of those who fear the destabilizing consequences of nuclear proliferation by announcing that it will become a full-fledged nuclear state, able to build both uranium and plutonium bombs and fit them to the nose cones of its missiles.
In its latest act of defiance, Pyongyang is reportedly preparing a new series of ballistic missile launches and another nuclear test, after a long-range missile test in April and the second test of a nuclear explosive device in May.
These and other actions have reversed steps the North had taken to abandon its nuclear program, coaxed by security, aid and other incentives offered in six-party negotiations with the United States, South Korea, Japan, Russia and China.