2017 International Day Against Nuclear Tests: A New North Korean Nuclear Roadbloc

On the last Friday of July 2017, North Korea launched another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as part of its ongoing missile tests. According to CNN, this is the 18th missile fired by the Southeast Asian country through 12 tests since February 2017. North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, through the country’s government-owned media outlets, boldly claimed that this latest test demonstrates that the United States is within striking range by a nuclear weapon. Indeed, even some missile experts unaffiliated with the country agree that a North Korean ICBM could reach California within its range of 9,000 to 10,000 kilometers. David Wright, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, maintained if the missile’s trajectory flattened out it, it could potentially reach as far as Chicago, New York, or Boston.

Although strike prospects are limited by the weight of the missile’s payload, this event should renew urgency across the globe on promoting nuclear weapons prevention in North Korea, and the rest of the world. This being said given that this test’s timing coincides with the beginning the month of August, which marks International Day Against Nuclear Tests. During its 64th session, the General Assembly created this day of observance on December 2, 2009 in resolution 64/35. The day has been commemorated on the 29th of August since then. Accordingly, its overarching goal is to end nuclear testing based on its harmful effects on humans and environmental health and as a crucial step in fostering a peaceful nuclear weapons-free world.

A tool at the fore of this global issue has been the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), adopted on September 10, 1996 by the United Nations General Assembly. While it has had some success, with 166 countries of 183 signatories ratifying it, it has not stopped such testing as recently seen with North Korea, whom has not signed the treaty. Furthermore, even though this July 28 test was not necessarily assessing its nuclear capabilities, this missile test is another roadblock on the long trail towards a nuclear weapons-free world, as hoped for by this day. As such, from physicists to non-governmental organizations to the general public, this day represents the array of educational activities, events, and messages held around the world bring attention to this issue, in order to effectively end nuclear testing.

These activities, as organized on 2010 commemoration, were expressed through symposia, conferences, competitions, publications, academic lectures, and much more.Last year, the United Nations itself commemorated the event by marking the 20th anniversary of the CTBT though a panel discussion, presenting its latest progress, current and emerging challenges, and opportunities to enhance a global norm against nuclear tests. At the moment, with these significant developments emerging out of North Korea, this day seems all the more relevant. With the global scale and destructive nature of this issue, countries, including the United States and Canada, should keep in mind the value of soft power and persuasion in removing the nuclear roadblocks of North Korea and other such ambitious countries.