The Korean threat steps up a notch

As North Korea announced a successful test for its first hydrogen nuclear bomb, the author first recalls the origins of the Korean conflict, and then presents the North Korean nuclear weapon programme as a result of a sense of insecurity for the North Korean regime, notably after the collapse of USSR. The nuclear weapon then became a priority and the programme has been rather quickly developed, probably with the help of the father of the Pakistani bomb. A first and second plutonium-based bombs have been tested, and then an enriched uranium-based bomb, and lastly, in January 2016, a hydrogen bomb. Doubts about this achievement are evoked. Then, the author proposes a brief overview of negotiations with the USA, and outlines the problematic behaviour of North Korea regarding the regional situation in an evolving context: a stronger Chinese economy, change in China's position towards North Korea, and Japan re-militarization